Hockey team put up dismal show in CT: Alam

LAHORE: Director Development and Domestic, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), former Olympian Naveed Alam said on Wednesday that Pak team put up dismal performance in the last edition of the Champions trophy (CT) in Holland and finishing at last position of number six is a alarming sign for the national sport.

“Finishing with a wooden spoon is a clear picture of sagging fortune of our hockey and we need to work on war footing grounds to arrest the downward trend of our team,” he told APP here on Tuesday.

The team failed to live up to the expectations and it management should be asked to explain the key factors responsible for the debacle of the team which appeared in the last chapter of the Champions trophy, said the former hockey Olympian.

To a question, he said, he watched all the matches of the Pak team on TV and noticed a number of faulty decisions of the team management in crunch situations. “Definitely I will be putting up my observations to the high ups of the PHF to help them to overcome gray areas of the team before its participation in the Asian Games which is also the qualifying round of the next Olympics,” said Naveed Alam.

Answering a question, he said Pakistan was the pioneer of the Champions trophy and it won the event twice and finishing at last number sixth position in its last edition has shocked everyone and left in dismay. He said the decision to appoint a junior player as captain of the team in the presence of senior players is beyond comprehension besides players were wrongly twitched to such positions for which they were not trained or groomed.

“The PHF Board must prepare a plan for bringing in improvement in the showing of the team in its coming assignment and decisions should be made collectively rather empowering the team management,” said the PHF official. The PHF Director defended the PHF for its efforts for the revival of the game and improving team’s performance by saying “Foreign coaching staff has been hired to infuse new life in team’s performance and Pak teams are being sent abroad to give exposure and experience to the players.

“We are organizing domestic tournaments on regular basis in order to identify new talent besides we have formed junior and development squads to have ample choice of selection in our main national team,” he said adding “We are taking all possible measures for the revival and uplift of the game and we are confident to put hockey at the path of progress”.