Indo-Pak hockey series a must: Pak coach
Mohammad Amin-ul Islam, TNN, 7 February 2010, 12:33am IST
NEW DELHI: There was nostalgia in his voice as Pakistan hockey coach Shahid Ali Khan gave a call to resume Indo-Pak hockey series. “India and Pakistan should play hockey series like in the past. It is the only way to keep the interest going in the sub-continent,” he told TOI from Lahore.
Interestingly, Pakistan will open their campaign against India in the World Cup opener on February 28 but before getting into the details of his team’s preparations, Khan expressed happiness that the event was happening in India.
“India has always been a happy venue for us. We won the 1982 World Cup in Mumbai. I’m sure this time Delhi will prove lucky for us.” The Pakistan team is training at Lahore’s National Stadium and Khan, who was only 18 when he won the World Cup in Mumbai in 1982, is putting in extra effort to revive Pakistan’s glory days in World Cup. He seemed serious about his team’s commitment. “This team is a balanced one with experience and youth,” said the former goalkeeper. My main objective is to strengthen the defence as it has been a constant problem for us,” he added.
Pakistan last won the World Cup in 1994. Since then, the six-time World Cup champions haven’t won any major title. In the Beijing Olympics they finished eighth. Yet Khan, a member of 1984 Olympics winning squad, is hopeful. “I agree there was a decline after 1994. But Pakistan hockey has improved a bit in the last few years. Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is trying to re-organise the game in the country. Results will come after some time and we are hopeful,” he reasoned.
Last month, as a part of their preparations, Pakistan played a two friendlies against the Netherlands in Doha (Qatar). “Playing against the Dutch has really helped us. In the second match, which we played with junior boys mostly and rested seniors, including Rehan Butt, we were leading by 2-1 until they restored parity in the last 10 minutes. Holland is a great side and the preparatory games were fruitful as we were able to find out our flaws which we are correcting in the camp.”
The coach however didn’t forget to acknowledge the benefit of having an experienced player Sohail Abbas in his team. “Sohail is our asset. We will use his expertise (drag-flick) to bolster our strength. His return to the team is a big boost for us.”