Pakistan Hockey Team Chief Selector, Hanif Khan, satisfies with Greenshirts’ progress
Hanif Khan, the Chief Selector of the Pakistan hockey team, expressed satisfaction over the advancement of the Greenshirts for the forthcoming mega events including the 2011 Champions Trophy and the 2012 London Olympics.
Pakistan’s hockey team, which is currently playing in Europe against world’s best teams, is improving its performances in order to prepare themselves for the upcoming giant fixtures. During the European Tour, the Greenshirts lifted the first Four-Nation
Cup, while secured fourth position in the second tournament. They improved their position and won the Test match against New Zealand. Though the Greenshirts won the first match against the low-profile Belgium, they lost the second game by three goals, 4-1.
Apart from these results, the Chief Selector of the Greenshirts was pleased over the performance of players in the European Tour. Speaking to the media, he stated that the Greenshirts showed good improvement for the forthcoming mega events. He further informed
that they should not worry about the results of the European Tour, as it is a training period for the Greenshirts.
Commenting on the upcoming mega events, the selector added that their main focus was on formation of the squad. He stated, “We are more concerned about forming nucleus of the team first for the Champions Trophy and then focus on 2012 Olympics. There is definitely
a marked improvement in the team comparing to the past. But we need to improve and lift our performance to get in better reckoning.”
In his views, the Pakistani players learn a lot of things, while playing against Dutch, English, German and other teams. The selector further informed the media that they were considering a bunch of 20 to 25 players for the Champions Trophy line-up. However,
the final names would be announced after consultation with manager and coach of the squad.
Hanif Khan, who was one of the best forward players of his era, further clarified that there would be no compromise on fitness and form of the players in selection of the team. The Coach and Manager, along with the selection committee, are currently evaluating
the performance and fitness of each player, particularly the seniors ahead of taking decision about their future participation.
The Chief Selector was of the opinion that the committee was keenly observing the most senior names, who were part of the squad for last three Olympics. A mixture of youngsters and experienced players were selected for the ongoing Europe Tourney, he continued
saying that the decision for the changes would be taken after taking all the stakeholders onboard including manger and coach.
In the concluding remarks, the selector reiterated confidence over the Greenshirts saying that they exhibited improvements in the game, even after losing two games.
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