Pakistan and India on a mission

Malaysia’s Mohd Marhan (right) battles for the ball with a Belgian player in their friendly match on Tuesday. Belgium won 3-2. — Pic: HAIRUL ANUAR

PAKISTAN and India are desperate to regain their glory in hockey and have vowed to play an attacking game in the Junior World Cup which starts on Sunday in Johor Baru.

Pakistan have brought a formidable squad, which include six players who helped the seniors finish second in last month's Asia Cup in Kuantan.
The six are captain Shafqat Rasool, Haseem Khan, Abbas Haider, Waqas Sharif (forwards), Muhammad Irfan and Fareed Ahmad (midfielders).
Haseem, 19, after having scored three goals for the seniors in the Asia Cup, is Pakistan's hope for getting the goals again.
Pakistan coach Khawaja Muhd Junaid said he is confident that his team will put up a good show.
"I am not making empty claims but the way we have performed in previous international tournaments, we are confident that our team are capable of surprising many top-ranked teams," said Khawaja, a former Olympian, when contacted in Johor Baru yesterday.
Pakistan are in Group A and will open their campaign against Russia on Sunday at the Taman Daya Stadium. Defending champions Argentina, Belgium and Egypt make up the group.
For the record, Pakistan won the Junior World Cup in 1979.
Meanwhile, drag-flicker Diwakar Ram will captain Pakistan's arch rivals India in the tournament.
India, silver medallist in the 2005 Rotterdam edition, are drawn in Group D with Netherlands, New Zealand , Poland and hosts Singapore. They will open their campaign against hosts at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium on Monday.
India coach A.K. Bansal said his players will also play an attacking game. "We are also concentrating on penalty corners as we have Diwakar to score goals," said Bansal.
India won the tournament in 2001 (Hobart, Australia) when they thrashed Argentina 6-1 in the final.
Pakistan squad -- Goalkeepers: Imran Shah, Imran Butt. Defenders: Muhammad Ateeq, Kashif Ali, Amir Shahzad. Midfielders: Muhammad Irfan, Fareed Ahmad, Muhammad Rashid, Mohsin Bilal, Sibtain Raza. Forwards: Waqas Sharif, Shafqat Rasool (capt), Haseem Khan, Abbas Haider, Muhammad Zubair, Inayat Ullah, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Taufeeq, Hassan Akhtar and Azlan Khan.
India squad: Goalkeepers: Mrinal Choubey, Harjit Singh. Defenders: Diwakar Ram (capt), Innocent Kullu, Manjeet Kullu. Midfielders: Birendra Lakra, Amardeep Ekka, Vikas Sharma, Vivek, Belsajar Horo, Vikas Pillay. Forwards: Mandeep Antil, Jay Karan, Danish Mujtaba, Pramod Kumar, Mohd. Amir Khan, Victo Singh, Dharamvir Singh.