The first phase of national hockey team’s preparation for the London Olympics will start formally today (Thursday) here at National Hockey Stadium as on Wednesday the members of the camp trainees reported to the camp commandant. An official of the Pakistan Hockey Federation said that they will be giving all kind of help to the team management to make the team a tough nut to crack when thy enter intro the Olympics competition. “The main aim of the camp is to provide the team with maximum possible exposure to prepare the team well enough to make its mark at the London Olympics,” said Asif Bajwa, secretary PHF. He said the performance and progress of the players during the camp would be monitored and only form and fitness would be the main criteria in final selection of the team.
“Our team will be playing matches abroad this summer ahead of the Olympics to warm up for the grand hockey festival in London and we are confident to blend our team into a winning combination by providing adequate training,’ he maintained. “We are also considering having training camps in Europe and we will come up with a final decision soon,” he maintained. Around 22 players out of the 24 have reported for the camp training while Shakeel Abbasi and Rehan Butt have left for Indian to take part in the World Hockey Series.
Probables: Goalkeepers: Imran Shah, Mazhar Abbas. Full backs: Sohail Abbas, Kashif Shah, Ahsan ullah, Mohammad Irfan, Aamir Shahzad. Half backs: Rizwan Jr, Farid Ahmad, Rasheed Mahmood, Mohammad Tauseeq, Kashif Javed, Tasawar Abbas and Imran Butt. Forwards: Waqas Sharif, Shakeel Abbasi, Abdul Haseem, Mohammad Rizwan Sr, Mohammad Zubair, Ali Shah, Shafqat Rasool, Mohammad Omer, Shabiir Khan, Mohammad Irfan Jr, Mohammad Salman and Rehan Butt.
Pakistan players reach India for World Series Hockey
Pakistan stars hockey forward Rehan Butt and several other players reached India on Wednesday to figure in the World Series Hockey (WSH). Former Pakistan skipper Zeeshan Ashraf and midfielder Adnan Maqsood, who are part of the Karnataka Lions franchise, crossed over from the historic Wagha Border, and star forward Rehan Butt, striker Shakeel Abbassi and Waseem Ahmed flew into Delhi from Lahore, while Sher-e-Punjab forward Tariq Aziz joined his team-mates in Jalandhar. Zeeshan Ashraf said: “WSH is the first of its kind league to be held in the history of hockey and we are thrilled to be participating in the tournament.
It is fantastic that hockey can provide a great platform for forging friendship between India and Pakistan. I hope our cricketers will also get to play together in the IPL.” Adnam Maqsood added the league would help him as a player and was excited about playing alongside India’s Dhanraj Pillay, who is making a comeback to the sport. “WSH is a great platform to boost hockey in India and it will also help Pakistani players since all the top coaches and players are playing here. I am confident about giving my best to my team Karnataka Lions and it will be fantastic to play with the legendary Dhanraj bhai. If we get time off from hockey, then I would like to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Taj Mahal in Agra.”
WSH is being held from Feb 29 to April 2 and will involve 200 leading players – Indian and international – who will showcase their talent in 59 matches. The eight venues for the inaugural edition of the league are Bangalore, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Jalandhar, Mumbai and Pune. Chandigarh Comets take on Bhopal Badshahs in the tournament opener here on Wednesday.
