Pakistan`s junior hockey team may rejoice after winning tournaments in Malaysia and Egypt but in reality, they seem to be of little consequence since the events were considered grade-two contests. Besides misleading the nation, such a reaction will do nothing in eradicating the team`s shortcomings when they face real challenges during the coming Junior World Cup in June.

The tournaments were played as part of team`s build up for the ninth junior (Under-21) World Cup to be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore. But between now and then, the team will not participate in any foreign tours that involve leading hockey teams. While the success in the recently concluded four-nation under-21 tournament at Johor Bahour (Malaysia) followed by a five-nation in the Egyptian capital Cairo can at best be morale boosters, but impartial observers believe that Pakistan would have done better to tour Europe for three to five match series against either Germany, the Netherlands or Spain for real assessment of the team`s physical fitness, capabilities and strength.

But it`s not too late to take action. Although, hardly two months remain before the World Cup commences, the PHF can still approach any of the leading European hockey nations to play a series. It is also wrong to assume that undertaking a European tour so close to the World Cup can involves risks. The management`s reluctance to play against strong sides indicates that they fear losing the series and it may have a negative affect on the eve of the June tournament, even though this will help enormously in tackling shortcomings that can only come from playing against a strong combination. But in Pakistan, team management is usually against such a series since the coach and the manager stand a chance of being exposed for their paid jobs. This is why they prefer to play against weak teams. It is high time that the management changes its approach and attitude regarding  team build -up for high level tournaments.