Junior hockey team announced for Malaysia tour

KARACHI: The newly appointed selection committee of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), led by Olympian Rasheed Jr, has announced the 21-member national team for the 5th Sultan of Johor Junior Hockey Tournament to be played in Johor Bahru, Malaysia from 11-18 October.
The team was announced after the two-day trials at Naseer Hockey Stadium, Islamabad. Forward Dilbar Hussain will be the captain, while Azfar Yaqoob will be his deputy during the event.
The PHF president Brig (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar was also present during the trials.
“Almost half of the players have already played for Pakistan, while others are making their first tour abroad. The team consists of the best talent picked from the players who turned up for the training camp,” said Rashid.
He said that three of the 21 players announced would return home before the start of the Junior Asia Cup.
Meanwhile, the PHF boss urged those players who failed to earn a place in the squad to work harder in future.
“You should keep your morale high and work even harder. You will definitely get a chance in the future,” he said.
Chief coach Tahir Zaman told ‘The News’ from Islamabad that his players are motivated and their morale is high.
“They have been told that they are Pakistan hockey’s future and their performance can restore the country’s reputation as a force in sport,” said Tahir.
He said that during the camp, all the problem areas of the players’ were worked on including their goal-scoring, finishing, PC conversions, passing, defence and co-ordination.
Tahir added that the team will play only a single practice match against Argentine. However, the PHF is trying to arrange another practice game against Malaysia before the tournament. The team will depart for Malaysia on October 8.
Along the chief coach Tahir Zaman, assistant coaches Mohammad Irfan, Zeeshan Ashraf and manager Khalid Mukhtar Farani would accompany the side for the tour.
Squad: Salal Khalid, Ali Haider (Goalkeepers); Mubashir Ali, Asif Mushtaq, Faisal Shah (Full-Backs); Abu Bakar, Faizan, Sikandar Mustafa, Muhammad Qasim, Muhammad Adnan, Junaid Kamal (Half-Backs); Shah Irshad, Azfar Yaqoob, Dilbar Hussain, Mohammad Atiq, Bilal Qadir, Adnan Anwer, Sohail Riaz, Mohammad Fahad, Mohammad Rizwan and Naveed Akram (Forwards).