Pak hockey team’s training camp from mid-January

KARACHI: The national senior hockey team’s training camp is likely to be held in Lahore from the middle of January to prepare for Asia Cup 2022, ‘The News’ learnt on Thursday.

The Asia Cup 2022 final schedule is yet to be announced but it is expected in the second quarter of the next year.

The Asia Cup 2022 serves as the World Cup 2023 qualifying rounds. The four semifinalist teams will qualify for the World Cup 2023 from Asia.

Pakistan recently ended fourth in five-team Asian Championship in Bangladesh earlier this month. This was Greenshirts’ first participation in any international competition in two years.

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has appointed a new head coach, Holland’s Siegfried Aikman. Asian Champions Trophy was his first assignment. Aikman would come back to Pakistan in January, sources said.

Sources said that Aikman would submit a report to PHF about the performance of Pakistan in Asian Champions Trophy and his suggestions.

It has to be mentioned that Aikman did not coach the Greenshirts before the Asian Champions Trophy. He joined the team in Bangladesh.

Khwaja Junaid claimed while talking to ‘The News’ that Pakistan played well in the Asian Championship. “But due to inexperience our players committed mistakes. The players had the ability to reach the final of the championship,” he said.

Junaid said that seven boys made their debut in Bangladesh. “Those juniors who had been part of the senior team were also not much experienced and had played only a few international matches,” he said.

He said that team management has noted the weaknesses of the players in goalkeeping, defence and finishing of attacks.

He observed that whatever Pakistani players committed mistakes it was reason of their not experience of playing international hockey last two years played direct Asian level international hockey event where all dominated Asian giant hockey teams except Malaysia participated.

Pakistan did not win its important matches but successful ti give tough times to its opponents and unbeaten in two matches against strong team like Japan and Korea, beside successful to taking leads one or two goals but could not sustain the lead due to its non experience players.

Junaid said that Pakistan need to international hockey matches series with other strong hockey teams before the Asia Cup 2022, so that we use all our players before international and ranking hockey tournaments.

He described that due to prevailing situation we compelled to do all experiences in international hockey championships.

He said that Pakistan found some good forwards in this tournament which would prove much beneficial for Pakistan hockey but all team members needed rigorous international hockey matches with strong hockey playing countries before starting the Asia Cup 2022, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games 2023, which would be qualifying rounds of Olympics 2023.

He added that PHF was making efforts to organise series with strong teams of the world and hoped that the Greenshirts would soon play a bilateral series or participate in a three- or four-nation tournament which would prepare the boys for Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Word Cup and Olympics.