Pakistan hockey team to leave for South Korea early PHF secretary Mujahid wants greenshirts to play practice matches before start of mega event LAHORE: Pakistan hockey team will depart for South Korea on September 11 to play some practice matches ahead of the Incheon Asian Games. The mega event is starting on September 19. The team tried hard to get an international tour ahead of the Asiad but to no avail. The government, however, decided to send the squad early so that players could get a chance to play some practice matches. Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary general Rana Mujahid Ali said Pakistan had not featured in any international event for last one year. “We tried hard to get an international tour ahead of the Asian Games but due to shortage of funds and visa-related issues, we could not get a chance.” Mujahid further said the national team would try to play friendly matches against the hosts, Bangladesh and Japan. The greenshirts will defend their title won four years ago in Guangzhou, China. After winning the title, Pakistan performed miserably and failed to qualify for the recently-held World Cup. The 35-year-old fullback Mohammad Imran will lead the team. “It`s a good decision by the PHF and Pakistan Sports Board to send the team to Korea early. We will try to take maximum advantage from it,” head coach Shahnaz Shiekh said. He said they would play their first match on September 20 against Sri Lanka and the team had sufficient time before this match to acclimatize. He said he was satisfied with the squad picked by the selectors. The PHF has announced an 18-member squad for the event. It will drop two players before squad’s departure to South Korea. Squad: Amjad Butt, Imran Butt, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Tariq, Amir Shahzad, Hamad Shakeel Butt, Mohammad Touseef, Farid Ahmed, Rashid Mahmood, Rizwan Junior, Kashif Shah, Mohammad Waqas, Umar Bhutta, Shahfqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Dilbar, Shakeel Abbasi and Rizwan Senior.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 05:13:15 +0000
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