Training camp of junior hockey team in full swing: Kamran Ashraf

KARACHI: Pakistan junior hockey team’s coach, Olympian Kamran Ashraf, says the team’s preparation in Islamabad for the 13th Sultan Johor Cup is in full swing as he is focusing on all key areas for the team to compete in the competition.

The event is set to be played from October 11-18 in Malaysia, with eight teams taking part, including Pakistan, Malaysia, India, Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand. The event will be played on single league basis, with each team playing against each other once. The top two sides will play the final.

While talking to this scribe on Monday, coach Kamran Ashraf said he is primarily focusing to upscale the players in crucial areas like attack, composure in defense, effective marking of both the attackers and defenders.

“We are also working tirelessly in making the players get better at penalty corners, drag flick, as well as the shoot-out,” Kamran said. During the ongoing training camp, the team management is also focusing on the physical fitness of the players.

“The physical training sessions are being organised in the morning and field hockey training in the evening,” Kamran said. “Apart from running, there’s also a lot of impetus on passing, dodging and tackling,” the coach said.

Kamran, a 1994 World Cup winner, believes that the competition is a tough event. “All the participants are top hockey nations. Thus, we have to put our heart and soul in order to overcome such opponents.

It’s not just about the hard work, we’ll have to be mentally strong in all departments to dominate such teams,” Kamran added. “Before the tournament begins, we are trying to arrange at least one practice match against the hosts Malaysia, so that players not only get hands-on experience, but can also get acclimatised to the weather and playing conditions,” he said.