Pak team coaches free to pick players for Hockey-5 event

KARACHI: The PHF has given free hand to the coaches of Pakistan national senior and junior hockey outfits to select the players for participation in the Hockey-5 competition starting from the first week of Ramadan.

It is expected that five to six teams would be selected for the Hockey-5 championship and each team will have nine to 10 players.

The national senior team has no engagements and the players are free these days. Thus they will remain in practice. And the junior players will get tough competitions when they play with or against senior team members.

Sources said that Khwaja Junaid, the coach of national senior hockey team, would make his team, while coach of junior hockey team Olympian Tahir Zaman would draw the junior hockey teams.

The PHF director development and domestic Naveed Alam, when contacted, said that other tournaments would also be continued in various parts of the country during Ramadan and summer vacations.

In these tournaments, players of local clubs and departmental teams would participate.

Naveed said that after Ramadan, during the remaining summer vacations, coaching camps would be held at various levels. The PHF will only facilitate those interested in organising summer coaching camps for grooming young players.

Meanwhile, Sindh White hockey team reached the quarter-finals of national under-18 hockey championship when it defeated KP by 5-2. The championship is being played in Islamabad at Naseer Bunda Hockey stadium.

Arsalan Haider netted two goals for Sindh White. Aun Aga, Faheem Khan and Abdullah Bukhari scored one goal each.