Pakistan Hockey Federation eyeing at Olympics gold medal
Buoyed by the gold medal in the 16th Asiad, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is looking another glory at the 2012 London Olympics, which is just eleven months away. The Greenshirts has increased the anticipations of hockey lovers regarding
their chances for gold medal in the upcoming mega event.
It is vital to mention here that Pakistan hockey team has won three gold medals in the Olympics, but could not win any more since 1984 Games. They earned a bronze medal in the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona, while lost to Australia in 2000 for the third-place
play-off game.
In the last years Asiad, the Greenshirts won the gold medal after two decades as their last title was in 1990. Pakistan outclassed Malaysia in the finals and swept the joys throughout the country.
In the upcoming London Gala, Pakistan would require a great struggle to win a gold medal, as they are far behind from hockey giants like Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia. However, the federation is quite optimistic about the performance of the
Greenshirts.
Khawaja Muhammad Junaid, the Manager of the Pakistan hockey team, while speaking to the media, stated that the federation is eying at the podium finish in the London Games. It is working hard to develop a strong squad for the mega event.
He stated, “We are on course to develop a combination of young and senior players and hopefully by the year end we will be able to form a team that will be capable of beating any side of the world in the London Olympics.”
He maintained that the confidence level of the players was soaring and they seemed quite starving for the Olympic triumph. The gold medal in the Asiad has enhanced their confidence level o and they are more committed to deliver, he added.
Right now the Pakistan hockey team had two different types of talent in the field of hockey, the youngsters that captured a gold medal in the 11th South Asiad held in Dhaka two months ago and the seniors who were part of the squad which clinched
the gold medal in the Asian Games. In his views, the squad for the London Games will be combination of senior players and the youngsters.
Junaid was of the view that they had fixed victory in the Asiad as their target and they succeeded to do so. Moreover, they would succeed to recuperate their past glory soon in the field of hockey, he hoped.
He stated, “Our initial target was the Asian Games, which we achieved and now want to have a successful Olympic campaign in order to regain our status in hockey.”
Currently, Pakistan hockey team is preparing itself for the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, which is scheduled to be held in the month of May. The team manager is busy in the training camp, which is currently underway at the Naseer Bunda Stadium in
Islamabad, Pakistan.
It is getting training under the supervision of master coach, Michel van den Heuvel. In the tournament, Pakistan is featured with New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, India, Germany and the host Malaysia.
Following the Malaysia-based tournament, Pakistan will partake in the 2011 Champions Trophy, where it will face the best hockey teams of the world.
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