Ali misses cardiovascular exercises amid Covid-19 fears

ISLAMABAD: Ali Shan, one of the leading names of Pakistan modern hockey like many other sportsmen has restricted himself to home but dearly missing the cardiovascular exercises that he says is a must for attacking player like him.

A resident of Danshaw-a small town near Kasur, Shan has been in isolation since March 22. Though he left the National Training camp midway due to ailment of his father, he has been one of the leading names in current active national hockey players who is also a favorite pick for the European leagues. “ I have to admit these are tough days for us in many ways. I am halfback cum forward and as such need hard cardiovascular exercise on regular basis to keep me fit and in best of shape. I am really missing my running, jogging and speed exercises that had been my forte in recent past. For an attacking hockey player who regularly plays for international leagues such exercises hold great value.”

Ali Shan however thanked Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) for developing a programme that has been helping leading players under these testing times. “I pray to Almighty Allah to save and help us get out of this testing times. The PHF under the instruction of Brig (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar has evolved a programme for all the camp trainees to stay fit till the time things gets better. This programme is mostly confined to home exercise which we carry while staying at home.

Team’s head coach Khawaja Junaid is looking after players’ progress and we also have to regularly upload our training videos so that if we wrong somewhere, trainers and coaches can guide us. “We start our day with drills and other exercises and keep on doing these for almost one hour and then during the evening session we do technical drills with the help of hockey sticks for almost two hours. This is our normal routine which we carry out with the help of head coach and trainers. Though we missed ground exercises, regular training at least gives us a hope that when we would return to the grounds we hardly take couple of days to get into full grove.”

Pakistan’s national sports leading name hoped that Pakistan hockey would emerge better and more popular coming out of the current crises. “I pray and hope that these crises would be over soon. Once things get better, youngster interest in the game would develop even more. Hopefully hockey would be biggest beneficiary. Hockey in Pakistan definitely needs broader pool and more interest from the youth. I believe that once things get better, youngsters would prefer taking on those sports which require more energy and stamina and hockey surely is one of these.”

Ali Shan was optimistic on playing Asian Champions Trophy and three-nation hockey event involving New Zealand and Korea that was postponed earlier due to coronavirus pandemic. “What hockey player needs is regular international exposure. I hope to see the return of on field activities. Asian Champions Trophy and later three nations engagements would be ideal stages to help us regroup and show the world that Pakistan hockey still is the strongest around.”