Pakistani captain Naseer Ahmed explains the cause of failure at WOQT – Volleyball news
Men’s national volleyball team of Pakistan recently participated in the World Olympic Qualification Tournament (WOQT) and got disqualified after a poor performance.
Pakistan was joined by France, Egypt, and hosts Bulgaria in the competition. The influential Olympic Qualification Tournament covered its run from June 8-10, while Bulgarian city Sofia provided the backdrop for matches. Like other teams in the group, Pakistan got the same opportunity and appeared in a total of three matches. However, the young Pakistani squad failed to create any buzz at Arena Armeec and ended up with 0-3 record.
Hassan Mazhar Hussain was attached with the team as head coach, while he was assisted by Muhammad Akram. The roster of Pakistani team featured Syed Shujah Abbas Naqvi, Muhammad Ismail Khan, Mohib Rasool, Naeem Jan, Muneer Khan, Ajmal Khan, Nasir Khan, Asif Nadeem, Naseer Ahmed, Imran Sultan (libero), Binyamin Binyamin, and Mubashir Raza.
Following the completion of WOQT, the Captain of Pakistani team Naseer Ahmed was offered to have his say about the overall performance of the team, where he explained the cause of failure. According to him, the team was composed of mostly young players, who did not have the experience of playing at international level and against powerful teams such as Bulgaria and France.
Furthermore, he revealed that the team did not get enough time to prepare for the tournament. The lack of training facilities was another reason cited by the captain. However, Naseer Ahmed described it as a great learning experience for the team. He concluded, “We will use the experience at the upcoming Super Asia Cup and South Asian Games.”
Therefore, the team has shifted all its attention to the next South Asian Games (SAF Games), which will take place in 2013. The SAF Games feature various sports including volleyball. Participants from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh join the bi-annual competition.
India, which is considered the conventional rival of Pakistan, is scheduled to host the upcoming edition of South Asian Games. Hence, it will surely be a great challenge for Pakistani team to display a better performance, in order to outdo the hosts in the competition.
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