Pak women hockey team departs for Bangkok

KARACHI: Pakistan’s national women team left for Bangkok on Wednesday to participate in the Asian Hockey Federation Cup. 

The team is led by Hina Kanwal. Rizwana Yasmin is the vice captain. Saeed Khan, who coached Pakistan’s World Cup-winning team of 1994, is the manager and chief coach. Former national captain Usman Sheikh is the coach. 

Schedule:

October 1: Pakistan vs Thailand

October 3: Pakistan vs Uzbekistan

October 5: Pakistan vs Chinese Taipei

The semi-finals will be played on October 8 and the final on ninth.

The top two teams of the AHF Cup will qualify for the Women’s Asia Cup.

The team went through a month-long training camp at the National Hockey Stadium, Lahore.

During the last days, the team also played practice matches against the Dar Hockey Academy.

Coach Usman said he was hopeful that Pakistan would put up a good show. But he was quick to add: “The national women team has been formed after a gap of more than three years. During this period, there was very little domestic activity. So it will be difficult to compete with the teams that have been active on the international circuit all this time.”