Irfan confident ahead of Asia Cup

KARACHI: Pakistan hockey team skipper M Irfan is confident regarding the preparations for the Asia Cup, which is starting from October 11 in Dhaka.

Talking to ‘The News’, he said the new management had done great work and the team would produce better results.

“The boys are looking in full form and they will get better results in Asia Cup,” he said.He said that unfortunately the team could not come up to the expectations in the World Hockey League (WHL).

“We are making all efforts to make things better gradually,” the captain said. Meanwhile, he applauded the work of PHF to revive hockey in Pakistan.He congratulated the PHF for organising such a colorful tournament featuring 11 international goalkeepers.

He said that the tournament would help local players learn techniques from these goalkeepers.“Our players are physically weak and they haven’t been on international tours.

“If the players play in foreign conditions, it will help them learn modern techniques,” he said.He said the under-18 players who played in Australia and remained there for almost four months had improved their skills. “We can say now that the junior team is capable of playing modern day hockey as they utilised their time to learn many things in Australia,” Irfan said.