Stronger Pakistan

08/01/2002

THE Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) yesterday named their squad for the
Six-Nation on Jan 18-26 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil with
four changes from the team which finished fourth in the recent Champions
Trophy in Rotterdam.
The team was announced by PHF secretary Brig Mussratullah Khan after the
conclusion of a two-day trial on Friday and Saturday.
Shahbaz Ahmed, 35, one of Pakistan's finest players ever, made a return
to hockey after a hiatus of three years in the Champions Trophy and
impressed the selectors enough to include him for the Six-Nation.
His inclusion in the warm-up to the 2002 Kuala Lumpur World Cup also
means that he is in the running to make an appearance in Kuala Lumpur
again on Feb 24 to March 9.
Two changes were made due to fitness and injury problems. Strikers Atif
Bashir and Mohammad Nadeem, who are injured, have been replaced by Saleem
Khalid and Ghazanfar Ali, respectively.
At the halfline, Imran Rasool failed to get the nod of the selectors and
was replaced by Imran Yousaf. Another change was Sameer Husain replacing
striker Navid Iqbal.
Atif Bashir broke his collar-bone in the Champions Trophy while Mohammad
Nadeem fractured his finger during the training camp from which the team
was selected.
It was also learnt that selectors turned down the suggestion of captain
Mohammad Sarwar to include Mohammad Nadeem in the team for the Six-Nation
because the extent of his fracture is still not known and he could recover
in time for Pakistan's opening match against World Cup champions Holland
on Jan 18.
The team will leave for Malaysia either on Jan 13 or 14 and play two
Test matches against the national side on Jan 15 and 16 at the National
Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Pakistan will again rely heavily on penalty corner specialist Sohail who
finished second behind Florian Kunz of Germany, on goal tally, in the
Champions Trophy.
Sohail scored eight goals in the Champions Trophy and was in the running
for the top scorer's award but Kunz scored two goals against Australia in
the final which took his tally to 10 goals in Rotterdam.
Sohail has, almost single-handedly, saved pakistan from the brink of
disaster as they were conceding all their international and regional
titles one by one.
The soft-spoken drag flicker, Sohail, rose on the horizon of Pakistan
hockey at the time when the team was almost collapsing and as Shahbaz
Ahmed, an outstanding striker, faded - many pundits lost hope in the game
in Pakistan.
Three-time Olympic champions, Pakistan, entered the 12-nation qualifying
rounds for the Sydney Olympics with drooping heads, but Sohail made sure
they played in the Olympics again by scoring all four goals in a crucial
match against Spain.
His Herculean achievements were acknowledged by the International Hockey
Federation (FIH) by nominating him for the FIH International Player of the
Year award for two consecutive years, 1999 and 2000.
Special attention is being paid by a panel of coaches including Hanif
Khan, Shahbaz Senior and K.M. Junaid to improve Sohail's skills by trying
out different drills and methods which will be on display during the Six-
Nation in Kuala Lumpur.
Pakistan - goalkeepers: Muhammad Qasim and Salman Akbar; fullbacks:
Tariq Imran, Sohail Abbas and Ali Raza; halfbacks: Muhammad Usman,
Muhammad Saqlain, Waseem Ahmed, Ghazanfar Ali, Imran Yousaf and Dilawar
Hussain.
Forwards: Sameer Hussain, Mudassar Khan, Muhammad Sarwar (Captain),
Kashif Jawwad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Saleem Khalid and Shabbir Ahmad.
(END)