Hockey camp for SAG to have 45-50 players: Ayaz

KARACHI: The national selection committee is likely to call 45 to 50 players for a training camp ahead of South Asian Games (SAG) after the ongoing National Championship, ‘The News’ has learnt.

The Games will be held in Nepal from December 1-10. The newly established selection committee members, including its chairman Olympian Manzoor Junior, are in the city to watch the national championship matches. The other members are Ayaz Mehmood, Waseem Feroze and Khalid Hameed.

Ayaz told ‘The News’ that the selection committee was watching the matches in order to find talented boys for international assignments. Most of the matches in the championship have been one-sided encounters because there is a huge difference between the departmental teams and those representing provinces, he said and added that now the championship has entered the knockout stage, and close contests are likely. “The matches from now on will be played among the best domestic teams. Now is the time for us to identify the best talent for the training camp of Pakistan hockey team,” Ayaz said.

He admitted that a lot of work would have to be done to improve the physical fitness and skills of the players to meet the challenges of international hockey. “But the good sign is that there is passion and hunger of success among the players participating in the championship,” he said.

Ayaz said the selection committee would select players keeping in mind the future needs of Pakistan hockey, focusing on fitness, skills and discipline. “Then a lot of hard work will be required to prepare the national team,” he pointed out.