Greenshirts struggling in field against European teams: Hockey News
Pakistan’s former Olympian, Shahnaz Sheikh, was surprised with the national men’s hockey team’s opening defeat, on June 21, against France by 4-2 in the University College Dublin (UCD) Four-Nation, in Ireland.
According to him, the team did give a good fight to their opponent team before being beaten down.
However, Shahnaz suggested the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to take the matter seriously as the squad is expected to display their finest abilities to build-up for the upcoming 2011 Champions Trophy and the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The former team manager commented that the Greenshirts have always been the strongest among the Asian teams, whereas when they face-off the European nations, they are found struggling in the field, hence, getting defeated.
The best example is the recent Sultan Azlan Shah Cup played in Malaysia in which they thrashed the various Asian opponents. Moreover, the 2010 Asian Games title was also successfully won by defeating the competitors from within the Asian region. On the other
hand, they failed to prove themselves in the tournaments played against the European teams.
The Olympian pin-pointed that these teams play offensive game that force Pakistan to play on their weak-side, the defence. He said, “Defensive game had never been the green-shirts’ approach and therefore they would always fail miserably by playing in this
fashion. They must always play belligerent hockey as it has been the natural style of Pakistani players.”
Shahnaz suggested that PHF must take measures to identify the reasons for this defeat and moreover evaluate the scenario. According to what the Olympian felt, Pakistan failed to match up the pace of the young French side. This raises a question over the
age factor of the veteran-dominated squad. Moreover, another reason may be the easy attitude of the team against the low-ranked France during the play, causing an unexpected defeat for Pakistan.
Shahnaz commented, “Perhaps the defeat may not be that ugly, which the result suggests. It may be only the weather factor and after an extensive training camp in sizzling Islamabad, the team might have failed to deliver in chilling cold of Dublin. However,
if a team is preparing for an impressive show for the Champions Trophy and Olympics then such results are enough to raise many eye-brows.”
With the recent defeat against France, it was a historic win for France on defeating one of the world’s finest hockey teams and their coach, Scott Goodheart, commented that the team deserved this success and took the game seriously. The team played the match
as if it was their last game and their efforts turned fruitful after practicing hard for the last few weeks at the INSEP.
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