Pakistan eyeing at victory to move into title-claiming match
Pakistan’s hockey team which is currently playing in the Four-Nations Tournament in Dublin is looking for a podium spot in the title-claiming contest. If they succeed to take the home team of Ireland down in the upcoming fixture, which is scheduled to be
held on June 24, 2011, they would get a place in the tournament’s finals.
Despite an unimpressive start, the officials of the Greenshirts are quite confident about the upcoming fixtures.
Pakistan, the winner of the Asiad, opened the event quite disappointingly and lost the first game in the hands of low-profile France by two goals, 4-2. However, they revved them up, improved their performance in the next fixture, and edged past China by
a single goal, 3-2.
It was the victory in the second game that boosted the strength of the Greenshirts who are fixing their eyes at the event-decider. To get a berth in the final game of the Four-Nations event, the Greenshirts will have to defeat Ireland.
On the other side, the Irish team has a great track record. They are currently holding the top position at the point chart with two impressive victories. Ireland defeated China by two goals in the event-opener, while continuing the winning-streak and thrashed
France by five goals, 6-1.
The start of the Greenshirts in their month-long European Tour was not quite impressive. It is vital to mention here that they clinched the gold medal in the Asian Games and secured silver in the recently completed Azlan Shah Cup in 2011. Apart from the
results, the hockey officials are quite satisfied about performance of the Greenshirts in the Four-Nations event.
Pakistan’s hockey team manager, Khawaja Junaid, opined that the Pakistani players found wonderful workouts in the opening two games of the Four-Nations Tournament. The manager while declaring the event as a training-programme for upcoming 2012 London Olympics
said that they wanted to face high-profile squads in order to improve their skills.
Commenting on the opening defeat, Junaid was of the opinion that the French team showed impressive performance and notched goals in the very early minutes. In his views, the main reason of the failure was the under pressure game. He further added that the
Chinese line-up also enhanced their game and displayed impressive performance in their latest fixture.
He said, “China are a highly improved team and it was pretty visible during yesterday’s match. They gave a strong performance but our team fought hard and managed to earn valuable victory points to stay in the hunt for a place in the final. Ireland are playing
well but we have worked out a solid game plan to beat them tomorrow.”
Following the four-nation event, the Greenshirts will depart Holland, where they will contest the Rabo Trophy. Apart from the Pakistan, Great Britain, Germany and Holland are also featured in the event.
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