The Pakistan Hockey Federation on Wednesday retained Ch Akhtar Rasool as chief coach and manager of the national team till 2014 World Cup and also appointed former Olympian Tahior Zaman as Consultant Game Development. Talking to journalists after the executive committee meeting of the PHF Secretary Mohammad Asif Bajwa informed that the selection committee had been abolished and the right of selection was given to the team management comprising Akhtar Rasool, Hanif Khan (coach), Ajmal Khan (assistant coach) and Ahmed Alam (goalkeeping coach) while Faiz is the physio and Nadeem Lodhi video analyst. He further said that former chief selector Hanif Khan had been appointed as coach of the team to also play his role as the selector. On Tahir Zaman, he said that he (Tahir) will be looking after the grooming of the senior, junior and ladies teams and will also tour with the team on the demand of the team management. He further stated that Tahir, who was FIC Master Coach, will also be responsible for the development of the domestic structure and will also look after the academies coaching set up. Bajwa while talking about the domestic hockey, informed that the National Championship will be played on new format. “A committee had been formed and the new format will be implemented in its recommendations.” Bajwa further said that the team management had been given complete authority in the selection and will be responsible of all the selection and team’s performance and will be held accountable for the team’s performance. Speaking on the occasion, Akhtar Rasool said that it was his desire to see the team achieve the 2014 World Cup. “Giving the right of selection to the team is a good decision. The role of the seniors in the team is not yet over and if they are fit to play they will be considered for selection.” He further said that hockey was his priority and politics was not. “Both are different fields but I prefer hockey more significant in life,” he added. Hanif Khan said that it was a big responsibility. “Coaching the team for a big event and their proper selection is a very big responsibility. We would try to cover all the loopholes identified in the team recently and fill the void step by step. “We will be treating the players like our children and train them likewise to be a batter players,” he added.
