KARACHI: Chief coach of Pakistan juniors hockey team Olympian Manzoor-ul-Hasan has said that he will be suggesting a series between Pakistan seniors and juniors to be played in August which could prove beneficial in preparing the players for the Asian Games in September.

“The series between Pakistan seniors and juniors will benefit both the teams ahead of the Asian Games in Incheon,” Manzoor said in an interview here at the Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium on Wednesday where he is supervising the training camp to groom 51 boys for future assignments.

He said he is submitting his proposal to Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Rana Mujahid in the next few days.

He said the series between the two teams will be good for Pakistan senior team in their preparation for the Asian Games where Pakistan will be defending their crown.

“At the same time the series will enable the Pakistan junior string to gain valuable exposure against the experienced seniors,” said full-back Manzoor who represented Pakistan in 1973, 1975 and 1982 World Cups.

He said he had accepted the challenge to train and coach the Pakistan juniors probables with fellow coaches Qamar Ibrahim, Kamran Ashraf and Mohammad Irfan but it was very difficult to bring in the results in a short span of time.

Commenting on the progress of the training camp, he said the month-long training camp will conclude on Friday. He said a big effort is required to prepare the boys for the 2016 Junior World Cup being staged in Canberra.

Manzoor further said the juniors will also be taking part in the World Youth Olympiad being held in Nanjing, China in August.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014