New management for senior hockey team

LAHORE, While announcing the new management for the senior hockey team, President, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Qasim Zia failed to defend the appointment of Olympian Ayaz Mahmood as chief coach.

Besides making the former centre-half the chief coach, Qasim Zia also appointed former forwards Mohammad Shahbaz Jr and Kamran Ashraf as the coaches, while sidelining Khawaja Junaid, also being tipped as making the team management.

‘We had said that the new senior team management would be announced before Nov 15 and I am glad to have met the deadline by appointing Ayaz Mahmood as chief coach with Kamran Ashraf and Mohammad Shahbaz as the coaches,’ said Qasim, who took charge as president last month after Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s resigning from the post.

When asked what he saw in Ayaz’s coaching abilities that inspired him to give the slot to him, since Ayaz has stayed away from the national hockey scene for a long time, Qasim, also a former Olympian, said that he was appointed for his vast experience of playing international hockey both on the grass as well as Astroturf.

‘The national team in the past has had several great players as coaches despite their having no experience of playing on the synthetic turf, so, we think it is better to give chance to those with a know-how of playing on the Astroturf,’ he said.

But when asked to explain about Ayaz’s coaching abilities, Qasim said: ‘As the PHF is going to hire the services of a foreign consultant , the new coaching panel at the helm will make a good combination to serve the national team.’

He said that though these appointments have been made for the World Cup qualifying round to be held next year, they could hold the positions till the 2010 Asian Games.

‘Qualifying for the World Cup will be tough as only one team from Asia can qualify for the mega event. So we will have to beat teams like South Korea, India and Japan,’ he said.

Ayaz, who has played in one Olympics (1984), has played 110 international matches from 1982 to 87. He is currently working as a station manager for Pakistan International Airlines in Moscow, Russia.

Kamran Ashraf’s career spans from 1991 to 99. He has scored 129 goals in the 166 matches that he played. Similarly, Shahbaz, who had resigned from coaching during Zafarullah Jamali’s regime for not being allowing to tour Europe as coach while being forced to return from Malaysia, after the Azlan Shah Cup, has represented the country in 168 international matches and has 89 goals to his credit.

Meanwhile, Ayaz’s only coaching assignment was with the national junior team way back in early 2002 when the present Secretary PHF Asif Bajwa was his assistant coach. Later, Bajwa was elevated as the senior team coach.

When asked if Khawaja Junaid was also under consideration for the job, Qasim explained there was a long list of players being considered for this job but the new panel was decided after lengthy consultations with them all.

Meanwhile, Qasim informed about the Dutch hockey expert Wouter Tazelaar’s presentation made to him on Friday on how to improve the standard of the game here. However, the decision to appoint him as consultant and to sign an agreement with him is yet to be taken.

To another question, Qasim hinted that if signed Tazelaar would cost them around US$8,000 per month, which was not that high a price if the PHF succeeded in its attempt to resurrect hockey through the consultant.

‘Tazelaar is in Pakistan on 10-day visit and he would be in a better position to sign a contract with the PHF after getting an idea of the hockey atmosphere here,’ he said.

Qasim also said that the PHF had decided to allow all the players playing league hockey abroad to play for their national team, after proving their fitness of course.

He said PHF’s first priority was to play a home series against different teams but cancellation of the Indian Junior team tour to Pakistan was a big setback.

PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa also attended the press conference.