PHF announces the 18-member national squad for the upcoming European tour: Hockey News
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) announced the 18-member national side for the forth-coming European tour, starting from June 20.
The national hockey side will be up against Ireland, France and China in a four-nation tournament which will be played in Dublin, Ireland. Following the matches in Ireland, the national hockey team will travel to Netherlands where it will participate
in another four-nation tournament which is going to be played in Amsterdam from June 28 onwards. Germany, Holland and England will be among the other contenders.
The tour also includes five practice matches, one against New Zealand on July 8, two against Belgium on July 10 and 11, and two against Holland on July 15 and 16.
The senior and experienced players of the team have a firm believe that the victory against some of the top class European sides will not only boost their confidence and morale, but also support them to deal with these teams better at the 2012 London
Olympics.
“The European tour is of great importance for us because teams from Germany and Holland will be playing there, besides young players will learn about the pressure tactics used by them (European teams).” Sohail Abbas, the veteran team member, added
his views.
“If you win against teams like Germany and Holland, it will infuse confidence among the team members and right now winning the Rabo Trophy is our target.” Waseem Ahmad, the seasoned centre-half of the national side explained his views on the importance
of the European tour.
Pakistan International Hockey team includes:
Mohammad Imran (captain), Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Mohammad Irfan, Waseem Ahmad, Shafqat Rasool, Mohammad Tousiq, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mahmood, Waqas Sharif, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Rizwan Senior, Mohammad Zubair, Waqas Akbar,
Kashif Shah, Salman Akbar (goalkeeper), Imran Shah (goal-keeper).
Khawaja Junaid will be the team manager, while the team will be coached by Michel Heuvel along with his assistants, Shahid Ali Khan and Ajmal Khan Lodhi. Faiz-ur-Rehman (physiotherapist) and Nadeem Khan Lodhi (video analyst) will also be the part of
team.
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