LAHORE: The Pakistan hockey squad crossed the Wagah border on Monday to participate in the Asian Champions Trophy, which is set to be held in Chennai, India from Aug. 3.

The national side underwent its final practice session ahead of the tournament here at the National Hockey Stadium in the morning before the afternoon session was cancelled with the players running late for their departure.

The Pakistan contingent was to take a flight from the border city of Amritsar to Chennai. However, it was without head coach Shahnaz Sheikh, who was still waiting for his Indian visa.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) had appointed Shahnaz as the team’s consultant only last week and had applied for his visa as the side’s head coach.

A PHF spokesman, however, believed there was still hope for Shahnaz to be granted the Indian visa with the Asian Hockey Federation in constant touch with the Indian High Commission.

Pakistan, with a squad dominated by youngsters, kick off their Asian Champions Trophy campaign against Malaysia on Aug 3, with an eye on the the Aug. 20 final. Umar Bhutta, their captain, is the only seasoned player on the roster with an experience of more than 200 appearances.

The remaining players have played a total of only half as many matches.

“..But this team has the passion and potential to play the final and we will go for it,” Pakistan coach Mohammad Saqlain told Dawn on Monday.

Malaysia and hosts India will come into the competition not long after a preparatory tour to Europe and a four-nation tournament in Spain respectively. Pakistan, meanwhile, have undergone a training camp to prepare for the event.

“All our opponents are experienced and well-prepared unlike the Pakistan team but we have trained well and the boys are fit,” Saqlain said.

The coach vowed that Pakistan will employ an attacking style of play in the Champions Trophy and that their forward line had the ability to ease the pressure off the defenders.

Echoing Saqlain’s views, Pakistan skipper Umar believed his team-mates were energetic and upbeat about putting up a good show in India. The veteran said the national side’s impressive record in the Champions Trophy would add to their confidence.

Pakistan’s objective, Umar noted, would be to improve their rankings in the International Hockey Federation rankings, in which the side are placed 16th. He said the tournament will help Pakistan prepare for the upcoming Asian Games.

“Most of the teams are coming with 22 players to test their bench strength for different strategies and that will be the case for us as well as we try to build a strong squad for the Asian Games,” said Umar.

Squad: Mohammad Umar Bhutta (captain), Rana Abdul Waheed Ashraf (vice-captain), Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Mohammad Abdullah, Mohammad Sufyan Khan, Ehtisham Aslam, Osama Bashir, Aqeel Ahmed, Arshad Liaquat, Mohammad Imad, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Roman, Mohammad Murtaza Yaqub, Mohammad Shahzaib Khan, Afraz, Abdul Rahman

Schedule of Pakistan’s matches:

Aug. 3: Pakistan vs Malaysia

Aug. 4: Pakistan vs Korea

Aug. 6: Pakistan vs Japan

Aug. 7: Pakistan vs China

Aug. 9: Pakistan vs India

Published in Dawn, Aug 1st, 2023