Changes expected prior to 2012 London Olympics, says chief selector Hanif Khan – Hockey News
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is still in doubt regarding the finalisation of the national Men’s squad prior to the prestigious event of sports around the word, the Olympic Games which will be held in London, England in July 2012.
The PHF officials had planned to establish an initial pool of twenty to twenty five players, after the Greenshirts’ recent European tour, in order to make the best possible combination before the upcoming international events, FIH Men’s Champions Trophy
in India in this December and the 2012 London Olympics in England.
However, Hanif Khan the chief selector stated that the there is still a need of experimentation to find an ideal combination and in this regard some changes in the national side can be expected before the Champions Trophy in December.
“There will be many changes in the team for the upcoming events before the Champions Trophy. We had planned to get a fair idea as to what our team would be for the Olympics by the end of the European tour,” Hanif Khan, the chief selector, stated about the
selection matters of the team before the major events.
The chief selector also criticised the seasoned star players, penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas and the striker Rehan Butt and stated that the experienced duo should take in to account their responsibilities as the senior members of the team. The former
Olympian also added that Rehan Butt is missing a lot of chances as a quality striker while, as a defender, Sohail Abbas’ first and foremost duty is to defend the goalpost but recently the Greenshirts have been conceding goals even to low ranked teams.
In the interim, the national team’s training camp for their most recent assignment, Asian Champions Trophy which is going to be held in Ordos, China from September 3, has started under the supervision of Khwaja Junaid, the chief coach of the national team,
who stated that the team needs an improvement in their defence as well as in the finishing ability.
Tags: