Former hockey legends to visit junior training camp

KARACHI: Pakistan junior hockey team head coach Olympian Danish Kaleem has said that the players in the training camp in Karachi at Abdul Sattar Hockey stadium are progressing well and the team management is working on their physical fitness as well as hockey skills.

While talking to ‘The News’ on Wednesday, he said that former hockey greats would also be invited during the training camp to give the boys useful tips and share their experience with the young players about how to defeat strong rivals.

The former hockey legends would give them lectures, and tips how they can improve their performance in difficult circumstances and how they can improve their hockey skills and tactics when they compete in big international tournaments.

Pakistan juniors have not played any big international tournaments for a long time. They missed the junior world cup 2016.

Danish said that the junior boys are talented, skillful and energetic and their only weak point is that they do not have much experience of international hockey. But to address this weakness PHF is trying its level best that before the Junior Asia Cup 2021 in July, the junior team play some international matches with any strong foreign team.

He further said that to give the boys match experience PHF has also planned a dozen hockey matches series with Pakistan senior team. It would give the juniors a lot of benefit as far as the match experience is concerned.

He was of the view that some of the junior players would emerge as wonderful forwards, PC specialist and goalkeepers in the coming days. They (junior players) would provide great service in the future when they would be part of Pakistan hockey at senior level, he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan senior team desperately needs some good forwards, PC specialist and goalkeepers.

Danish refused to disclose the names of those junior players whom he considers “future stars of world hockey”.

He said that COVID 19 pandemic has slowed down hockey activities all over the world. “It is affecting our preparation but we have adopted an alternative plan to arrange and organise extensive training and organise maximum domestic matches so that our boys do not sit idle. There is no other option. We have to play rigorous and extensive hockey with physical fitness plan,” he said.