Pakistan, led by 21-year-old Mohammad Imran, will start their campaign today in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament with a match against New Zealand.
Pakistan, surprise gold medallists at last year’s Asian Games, have named several veterans as they prepare for London. They have 12 players from the side who won the gold medal in the Guangzhou. Penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas is the world’s top scorer with 313 goals in 259 matches. The side under the charge of Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel also boast of having two skilful forwards in Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi, who featured in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) for Sapura and Yayasan Negri Sembilan (YNS) respectively. But the Pakistan defence will not have former skipper Zeeshan Ashraf, who has opted out of the tournament.
He has been replaced by youngster Syed Kashif Shah. Pakistan have named Mohammad Imran as the captain. And the defender, who represents the Army team in the Pakistan League, said that he was confident that they would do well in Ipoh. “Sohail is the best drag flicker in the world and we can bank on him to deliver the goals. We also have experience forwards like Rehan and Shakeel to beat the best defences to score goals,” he said. “We also have a few talented young players, who are eager to give their best. The Azlan Shah Cup is part of our preparation for the Olympics next year.”
Pakistan team manager K.M. Junaid has said the team was a blend of young and experienced players and they could mount a strong challenge at the Ipoh tournament. “I am confident of my team doing well,” he said. Pakistan have won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup thrice – in 1998, 2000 and 2003. World champions Australia are tipped to make a strong impression in the event despite a new-look side as teams build towards the London Olympics.
The Australian team is almost unrecognisable from the side that won gold at last year’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi due to unavailability and injuries but team bosses are not worried about the make-up of the side. “Depth in your squad is important for any team that wants to be successful because there will always be situations where players are unavailable for various reasons, as has happened at this tournament to us,” said Ric Charlesworth, Australian chief coach.
“It’s important that players can step in and not feel out of place and know all of the team structures and game plan.” The Indians also have a depleted side with six senior players left out but chief coach Harinder Singh said it would allow him to try out new players. “Our focus is the Olympic qualifiers, which we will host next year. We need new faces as well to provide a challenge for the seniors.” Pakistan, Australia and India are joined in the tournament at by Britain, South Korea, New Zealand and hosts Malaysia.
Fixtures:
May 5: Pakistan v New Zealand, India v South Korea, Britain v Malaysia. May 6: Pakistan v South Korea, India v Britain, Australia v Malaysia. May 8: India v Australia, Britain v Pakistan, South Korea v New Zealand. May 9: Australia v Pakistan, Britain v New Zealand, India v Malaysia. May 11: New Zealand v Malaysia, Australia v South Korea, India v Pakistan. May 12: Australia v Britain, India v New Zealand, South Korea v Malaysia. May 14: Britian v South Korea, Pakistan v Malaysia, Australia v New Zealand. May 15: Final
