It's almost 5.00pm as young Haseem Khan hurriedly pushes in shin guards and pulls up his socks to begin yet another practice session at the Hanif Khan Hockey Club, Custom's Complex in Karachi.
Playing hockey since the time he measured shorter than a hockey stick, 20-year-old Haseem is a BE student at the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology. According to the national team Chief Coach Shahid Ali Khan, Haseem is the 'find' of the Asia Cup hockey tournament as after years of absence from the victory stand in any major hockey event, Pakistan won a silver medal in May .
Selected from the junior team to represent Pakistan in the prestigious tournament in May, centre-forward Haseem Khan is a prolific goal scorer.
Speaking to Dawn soon after the senior team's return to Pakistan after bagging the recent three-Test series with England by 2-0, Haseem said he believed that giving the juniors a chance to play in the national team is a good move on the part of the selectors.
“Everyone in the team now has to show their full game in order to stay in the side as there are so many youngsters waiting in the wings,” he pointed out.
When asked if they were experiencing burnout or fatigue due to playing so much hockey in both junior as well as senior teams, the junior team skipper said “No, not really. We are getting a lot of exposure, which cannot be bad for any player, especially in current times when foreign outfits are reluctant to play in Pakistan.”
When asked about how he felt going back to the junior side after playing for the senior team, he said “I think I'm through playing for the junior side as they too are done playing their share of tournaments this year. The four and five-nation series that we featured in earlier this year were both played in preparation for the Junior World Cup and now that the World Cup too is over, we are free. Besides, I will be too old to play in the next edition of the Junior World Cup so no more preliminaries for me.”
After winning the four-nation junior series in Malaysia featuring Singapore, India, Pakistan and the hosts along with the five-nation series against hosts Egypt, Italy, Russia and Ghana before that, the junior hockey team ended up fifth in the Junior Hockey World Cup in Malaysia last month.
“Yes, that was rather heartbreaking considering how well we were doing,” Haseem said while commenting on their Junior World Cup loss.
“Though Australia thrashed us 6-1 in the pool match, losing to a strong team like them was still not as bad as losing 2-4 to New Zealand, who we usually manage to beat, and not make it to the semi-finals,” said Haseem, who was also selected for the senior side during the four-nation event before the Cup.
While responding to a question about whether the junior boys were getting any attitude from the seniors, Haseem said “Yes, lots and lots of it but only in the good sense of the word.
“We get much encouragement and support from the seniors. Our captain Zeeshan Ashraf, Waseem Ahmed and goalkeeper Salman Akbar are always glad to lend a helping hand and teach or give us valuable tips. In turn our presence helps them take rest during the 70 minutes of play as having more stamina, naturally, we can play continuously for the entire duration of the game,” he added.
And does he get any valuable tips from the chief selector Hasan Sardar who happens to be the greatest centre-forward the country ever produced — ?
“Well, I am on the ground here and he is in the stands up there,” said the young centre-forward with a smile. “The day he calls me or comes downstairs to speak to me about my game will probably be the luckiest day of my career,” added former captain and ex-coach Olympian Hanif Khan's enthusiastic young nephew.
