KP hockey chief slams PHF’s selection standards

KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hockey Association general secretary Zahir Shah has criticised the PHF’s selection saying that it selected a player who was not even selected in the provincial three under-18 outfits for national U-18 hockey championship.

Talking to ‘The News’, he said that it was astonishing that a player who was not selected in three provincial hockey teams — KP White, Color and Green — which participated in the national under-18 championship has been selected for Pakistan’s national U-18 team’s training camp.

“What message does PHF want to give to the provincial associations? That they are nothing and whoever bypasses them can be selected to represent Pakistan?” he said.

Zahir said that he could not understand the PHF’s double standards in selection. “KP Whites captain Yasir Ali, a promising player, was kicked out of the camp. Yasir and his teammates were among the 66 probable players in the camp but were ignored for the next phase of the camp,” he said.

Yasir is currently part of the PHF White participating in the nine-a-side tournament in Karachi.

Zahir said that after the announcement of the 45 probable players for the camp, he was shocked to see that some talented players who played a key role in the team’s success at national championship were ignored and some players were included had not even participated in the championship.

He said that full-back Mehmood Abbas also played well in the national championship and played an important role in taking KP Whites to the final of the championship, but he also was ignored.

Shah said he had brought the matter into the knowledge of PHF president Brig (retd) Khalid Khokhar and secretary Shahbaz Ahmed.

He said that he was waiting for PHF to correct its decisions.

Zahir said that since 2000 individuals had been entertained and provinces had been bypassed. “As a result hockey has gone down rapidly,” he said.

He said Pakistan were out of the Olympic and the World Cup. “In the last 24 years we have not won any medal in the Olympics. If selection is not based on merit, Pakistan will not be able to regain its past glory in hockey,” he said.

Zahir, who is also member of the Executive Board of the PHF, said that they had already called an important meeting of the KP Hockey Association to discuss the issue.