3-nation event in Lahore, Azlan Shah Cup: PHF invites twenty probables for training camp
LAHORE, March 21: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has invited 20 probables to the training camp which will commence at the National Hockey Stadium here from March 25 for the back-to-back important assignments before the London Olympics which include a three-nation tournament at home and the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in May.
The three-nation tournament which is scheduled to be held in Lahore from April 9-13 is likely to see India and Malaysia as participants besides hosts Pakistan. The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from May 24 to June 3.
Meanwhile, newly appointed manager-head coach Akhtar Rasool Chaudhary will impart training to the 20 probables. Akhtar replaced Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel who was removed from his post last week over serious violations of his contract with the PHF.
Meanwhile, penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas, who broke his jaw in the last Champions Trophy in Auckland, will also resume the camp training from March 25. Being a senior member of the training camp, Sohail is likely to be appointed as captain of the Pakistan team as previous captains Mohammad Imran, Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi have left Pakistan hockey in doldrums to join the cash-rich World Hockey Series in India.
Meanwhile, a PHF spokesman says it is likely that four to five more players from the junior string will be included in the senior camp after approval from the national selection committee. A training camp for the juniors is already in progress at the National Hockey Stadium for the participation in the series against Malaysia and Korea, to be held in Malaysia next month.
Meanwhile, the PHF spokesman further added that the trials to select the final line-up of the junior hockey team to play Test match series against Malaysian and Korean junior hockey teams (from April 4-13) will be held at National Hockey Stadium Lahore on Thursday. The trials will be observed by the national selection committee headed by Hanif Khan along with members Arshad Ali Chaudhry and Khalid Bashir.
Probables:Goalkeepers: Imran Butt, Imran Shah.
Full-backs: Sohail Abbas, Kashif Shah, Ihsan Ullah Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Amir Shahzad.
Halves: Mohammad Rizwan Junior, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mehmood, Mohammad Tousiq and Ammad Shakeel Butt.
Forwards: Waqas Sharif, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Rizwan Senior, Mohammad Zubair, Ali Shan, Shafqat Rasool,Mohammad Umar Bhutta and Shabbir Khan.
Officials: Manager/Head-coach: Akhtar Rasool Chaudhary. Coach: K M Junaid. Assistant coaches: Shahid Ali Khan, Ajmal Khan Lodhi. Physio: Faiz-ur-Rehman. Video analyst: Nadeem Khan Lodhi.