The victorious Pakistan hockey team returned with the Tri-Nation Tournament trophy on early Saturday morning.
The team was brimming with confidence and looked in good state of mind for the upcoming tournament.
Pakistan beat Australia in the final of the tournament held in Perth in its buildup for the Champions Trophy and the next year’s London Olympics.
Talking to journalists on arrival team manager Khawaja Junaid said that the win has given the team great confidence and they will prepare even harder for the upcoming events.
“Their immediate target is the Champions Trophy to be held in the New Zealand in December and then comes the Olympics Games and the win has come as a boost for the players ahead of these events,” said he.
He further added that the hard work of the players have started to pay off. “Not much changes are required in the team and all we need to do is experiment different combinations in the field and overcome some of the weaknesses identified during the Australia tour,” he maintained.
To a question, Kh Junaid said that the International Hockey Federation has given a letter of appreciation to the Pakistan team for keeping its patience during the match against India.
Pakistan and Indian hockey players had a stick-fight in their opening match of the three-nation tournament which left some of the Pakistan players injured including Mohammad Imran and Shafqat Rasool which led to bans on five Indian players and officials by the FIH.
“The FIH has praised the behaviour of the Pakistan players particularly for keeping their cool during the fight against India,” he maintained.
