The Pakistan Hockey Federation has no plans to change the junior team management despite the fact they lost to Korea in the semi-final of the Under-18 Asia Cup. Pakistan, which was the defending champion, won bronze medal after beating host Singapore but they were pushed to the classification position by Korea in the semi-final when the team was expected to retain the title. Pakistan lost to Korea 1-2, which was the only defeat they faced during the week long tournament. An official of the federation said that its time to encourage the team ahead of their busy schedule. “The team have to prepare for the World Cup and the team management needs proper time to groom the players for the big event,” said Asif Bajwa.
The PHF top official though felt the heat, admitting the setback in result however threw weight to motivate the folk ahead of the extensive assignments. He informed that Pakistan got five penalty corners but could hit a single goal in the first half while Korea scored their winning goal in the second half of the match. “The result is noticeably disappointing but that does not mean we leave the team in cold. In such circumstances the team management and the players require a proper path. You cannot change the whole set up due to just one defeat. They have been given a target and they will now work on the grey,” he stated.
“It’s a good omen that we have such a strong bench strength to prepare for the Junior World Cup and this tournament will play a vital role in the removing the team’s weaknesses,” he said. “I believe they didn’t play bad against one of the best teams of the event,” he added. “Each one of the team member showed the character but I personally believe they are so young and are in the developmental phase. So they are talented and have the ability to win and obviously assessment is must but they need time and with more maturity will come along and more exposure they get more they get better and tough,” he concluded.
