Pak hockey team trials on Sept 19-20

KARACHI: Pakistan senior hockey team has started its training camp in Karachi for the Asia Cup 2017, which is to take place in Dhaka.The trials for the selection of the Green-shirts will be held on September 19-20. The Asia Cup will be held from October 11-19.

Chairman national selection committee Olympian Hasan Sardar, alongwith Olympian Ayaz Mehmood, visited the training camp and saw the players’ training. Sardar told ‘The News’ that this was the last phase of the training camp. “The boys are gradually improving. The team management has focused on both physical fitness and hockey skills,” he added.

He said the selection committee would see the boys’ form, fitness, and skills. “Form and fitness will be the criteria during the two-day trials,” he said. He said that in modern day hockey, only skills were not enough. “The players have to be super fit. Thus, the team management is giving equal importance to physical fitness,” he said.

Sardar further said that attacking game was Pakistan’s identity. “Whatever we achieved in the past was due to our attacking game. These boys have been asked to play attacking game from the start of the game. Indeed defense is important; according to the need of the moment you may have to play defensive game,” he added.

Head coach Farhat Khan said that they were trying to make boys tough enough to compete in big events. “Besides, the boys are getting physical training in gymnasium, doing swimming and also physical exercises in the ground in morning sessions,” he said.

He said that there was separate training for penalty corners, penalty shootout drills and for goalkeepers. “The forwards are being trained in short passes and long passes,” he added. He hoped that Pakistan hockey team would get a few practice matches in Bangladesh before the Asia Cup, which would help the boys acclimatise with the conditions there.