Islah commends Green-shirts’ performance

KARACHI: Chairman national selection committee Islahuddin has commended the performance of Pakistan team in the recently concluded Asian Champions Trophy in Oman. Pakistan were declared joint winners with India as the final could not be organized because of a storm.

Islah said that the Green-shirts did a great job although they have not been paid adequately for their services. “They proved that they had the ability to reach the victory stand in international events,” he said while talking to ‘The News’.

He said that Pakistan were passing through a difficult period because they had just lost their head coach Roelant Oltmans as well as their physical trainer. “They are not getting daily allowances and match fees but still they played with great commitment and reached the final,” the chief selector said.

He said that if rain had not interrupted, Pakistan would have defeated India “because their morale was high. They had also put them under pressure in the round match by taking the lead but later lost the match due to poor show of the defense.

“The main thing of this event was that our PC specialists and forwards played well. We also did well in penalty shootout,” he added. He said the semi-final had been a one-sided affair as Pakistan were leading 4-1. “But near the end we conceded three goals because of some mistakes,” he said.

He said Pakistan players became complacent or they had got tired. “Malaysia on the other hand had nothing to lose. They were losing by three goals, so they went on attack. Pakistan instead of being defensive should have launched counter attacks,” said Islah.

He added that fitness of Pakistan players was not up to the mark. He said he would recommend to the team management to hold long training camps and focus on the fitness. He said the government should immediately release the required funds for the preparation of World Cup, which is to be held in India in December.

“The players can make proper preparation only when they have no financial worries,” he added. Islah said that the World Cup could prove a turning point for Pakistan hockey. He asked the Hasan Sardar-led team management to work hard to remove the weaknesses which had been identified in the Asian Champions Trophy.