Talent spotted, polished It’s time to give boys exposure: Movahedi

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Iranian volleyball coach Hamid Movahedi on Tuesday said that he helped Pakistan form a formidable pool of players during the last two years and now it was time to give them maximum exposure to ensure a bright future for the country in the sport.

“When I came two years ago as Pakistan coach there were only a few players. I, with the assistance of Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF), tried hard to hunt and nurture fresh talent and today I am proud that Pakistan has a huge pool of potentially glorious players,” Movahedi told ‘The News’ in an interview soon after he arrived in Islamabad.

Movahedi had flown to his hometown in Istanbul to spend some time with his family at the start of this month. He will resume his duty with a camp of Pakistan’s beach team here from Wednesday (today) to prepare for the Asian Under-21 Beach Volleyball Championships, slated to be held in Bangkok from March 16-18. The event will also serve as qualifiers for the Under-21 World Beach Championships to be held in Udon Thani, Thailand, from June 18-23.

“It’s time the players were given chance to feature in international events,” Movahedi said.He said that his two years with Pakistan remained very busy and he worked really hard with the boys.

“I love Pakistan and its people. I have tried my best to make my charges learn. You know when I took up the job as Pakistan coach the players used to play old-style volleyball; I made them learn modern volleyball that helped us produce some positive results in international events,” Movahedi said.

“For the first time in Pakistan’s history we formed a youth team, worked hard with juniors, under-23 and senior sides and I see a great future for Pakistan volleyball,” said Movahedi, who has coached several countries, including Iran.

Under his command Pakistan last year defeated strong China and India in the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.“It was a good result,” the coach recalled.Movahedi’s contract will expire in March and it is not yet known whether the PVF will be able to extend his contract.The PVF has requested Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for extending his contract. “I personally don’t know whether I will be able to continue,” the coach said.

About Pakistan’s chances in the Under-21 Asian Beach Championships in Bangkok, Movahedi said it would be a tough event. “The beach volleyball standard of Asia is too high. Teams like Kazakhstan, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand are very tough. They keep training and featuring in beach events. For Pakistan it’s just the start. Our players are too young and we are going to hold the camp from tomorrow in Karachi. Although it’s difficult to live up to the expectations, we will strive our best,” the coach said.

To a query, he said that Pakistan could grow fast in beach volleyball. “Yes, Pakistan can grow fast in beach volleyball. Beach volleyball is not that expensive. It’s time for Pakistan to focus on beach volleyball as here chances of improvement are high,” Movahedi said.

He said there would be two training sessions a day in Karachi. “I have requested the PVF chairman Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob for sending the team to Thailand one week before the start of the Under-21 Asian Beach Championship. I will try to arrange some friendly matches for the teams as it is very important ahead of any international event,” Movahedi said.

Two teams of Pakistan will feature in the Thailand event. He termed Karachi an ideal place for beach events. “In the rest of the world nations face highly cold weather at least for four months in a year but in Karachi one can hold camps and organsie events throughout the year,” Movahedi said.

Meanwhile, six players arrived here on Tuesday to report for the camp. They are Zarnab Khan, Afaq Khan, Faryad Usman Ali, Ahmed Mustafa, Mazhar Ali and Ihtisham Khan. Ijaz Ahmed will be the manager.