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| October 17, 2002 | Thursday | Sha'aban 10, 1423 |
Players too old to play: Munir
LAHORE, Oct 16: Olympian Munir Dar said Wednesday some players of the national hockey squad were too old to carry on and were not capable of making an impact on a match.
He pointed out that the team seemed to be physically and mentally drained during the bronze medal playoff against Malaysia at the Busan Asian Games where he had gone as a karate official.
Munir is also the president of the Pakistan Karate Federation.
Pakistan return empty-handed from the Asian Games for the first time after losing to the arch-rivals India 4-3 in the semifinal, and then being beaten 4-2 by minnows Malaysia on shootout.
Munir said the defeat at the hands of India frustrated the boys who were already worn-out after a three-month long European tour.
Pakistan played four-match series in Spain, Commonwealth Games, and Champions Trophy, before appearing in the Asiad.
He opined it was time the PHF adopt a 3-4-3 formation to prepare the team for the 2004 Olympics.
He criticised the Asian Games hockey draw, saying traditionally, champions India should have been bracketed with number four Malaysia, while runners-up South Korea and number three Pakistan should have been placed in the same pool.
He alleged that South Koreans manipulated the draw only to avoid Pakistan in pool matches.
Dar said the Indian Hockey Federation had been receiving Rs90million from the Indian Sports Board and an equal amount from sponsors.
But, he lamented, that the budget of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) was Rs6.5million for the running 26 national sports federations half of which was being spent on the salaries of PSB staff.
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