‘Sponsorship deal a big step forward’

KARACHI: PHF president Khalid Khokhar said on Monday that the players were free of worries about their financial position after the sponsorship deal with a major company, which he called a big step forward.

Commenting on the PHF’s agreement with Haier, he said the players should now work hard in the remaining days of the training camp before the World Cup. He told ‘The News’ that some players were to retire after the World Cup, so they should play with utmost zeal to give good results in India.

“Many people were saying that PHF would not be able to send the team to the Asian Champions Trophy due to financial crisis. But PHF took a firm stand. First, we are bound to follow the directives of FIH to participate in all their events. Second, it was the last opportunity for our players to have match practice before the World Cup,” said the PHF chief.

“We faced all hurdles and addressed the issues with positive frame of mind. The sponsorship agreement with Haier is a result of some bold decisions of PHF,” he said. “The PHL in Pakistan early next year will bring a lot of change. The preparation has been started and after departure of Pakistan team to India, our focus will be on a tournament in Pakistan and PHL,” PHF president said.

He hoped that the appointment of Tauqir Dar as head coach would prove beneficial for the team. “Dar knows modern hockey. He has practically worked at grassroots level for a long time as he runs his own academy,” he added. He said Javed Afridi, who heads Haier, had done a great job for Pakistan’s national game.