PHF shuts camp for ‘financial constraints’

KARACHI: The training camp of the Pakistan hockey team for the preparation of 2016 Olympics qualifying round has been shut till April 10, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) said on Wednesday.
The camp was in progress at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium, Islamabad.
The camp has been suspended because the PHF has no funds to give daily allowance to the players.
The PHF will review its financial condition in the coming days and will decide whether to continue or close the camp.
The closure of the camp will not only badly affect the preparation of the team but is also a great setback to the national game which won two silver medals at major events last year. The closure will harm the confidence of the players.
But some sources claimed that actually the training camp was closed due to technical faults on the surface of the old synthetic turf of Nasir Bunda stadium. At least eight players have been injured during training due to which PHF has been compelled to close the camp, but it is also using it to press the government to release funds.
The players who have been injured include Champions Trophy hero Arsalan, Ammad, Irfan Umair Rana and Abu Bakar.
The sources said that Umair Rana and Abu Bakar had been sent home for rest as their injuries would take some time to heal.
Pakistan chief coach Shahnaz Sheikh, when contacted, said that the turf at the Naseer Bunda stadium was hard due to which players were getting their ankles twisted and also developing hamstring and calf injuries.
He said that funds shortage was also a factor in the closure of the camp.
“When eight players got injured and most of them playing members of the national hockey team, we cannot afford to continue the training at Naseer Bunda’s synthetic turf,” he said.
It was also learnt that the training camp, whenever it is to be resumed, would be held in Lahore. PHF would decide next week the schedule of the training camp, the sources said.