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| March 3, 2003 | Monday | Zul Hijjah 29, 1423 |
Shahnaz rates Germany biggest threat
KARACHI, March 2: Pakistan hockey coach Shahnaz Sheikh on Sunday rated the Germans as the biggest threat at this month’s Azlan Shah Cup and hinted there might be some changes in the squad after the event.
“The Germans are the defending champions and will be the toughest rivals at Azlan Shah Cup. Although it is too early to say about the changes in the team, I will not completely rule out chances of having some new faces after the competition,” he said.
The coach said the tournament would be a litmus test both for the experienced players and the youngsters who had been included for the first time in the squad.
“However, further changes in the squad will take some time. We can have some more fresh faces only after deep analyses,” he added.
Pakistan have included three new players — Shakeel Abbasi, Adnan Maqsood, and Mohammad Aqeel — for the March 22 to 31 six-nation tournament to be hosted by Ipoh, Malaysia where arch-rivals India, South Korea, New Zealand and Malaysia will also be in the fray.
Although Shahnaz said it would be a challenging competition, yet vowed to win the Cup which Pakistan won under his tenure few years ago. “It will be tough event and we have to face the Germans in the opener. We had won the title in 1999 under my command, I will bring the Cup once again.”
India, who beat Pakistan in Cologne Champions Trophy league game 3-2 and then at Busan Asian Games semifinal 4-3, were the second major threat for Shahnaz followed by the South Koreans.
The Ipoh contest will be first assignment for Shahnaz who was sacked as manager in 2000. The event will also be the first outing for the team after humiliation in Busan where they finished fourth, the worst-ever performance in the history.
Shahnaz said Shakeel would be tested as reserve centre-forward, Aqeel as standby right-out/right-in, while Adnan right-half/centre-half.
“Forwards have been asked to support the midfield in case of an attack to bridge the gap between the strikers and the midfielders. I have noticed we attack from the centre. But now we will launch attacks from right and left flanks,” he said.
However, he did not agree penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas should be utilised as half-back. “Sohail has been doing fine as full-back and will remain at the same position. He has improved his tackling. He will be used as half-back only in extraordinary circumstances.”
Meanwhile, the training camp resumed on Saturday after four-day break. Barring full-back Tariq Imran and assistant coach Tahir Zaman, the remaining squad members have reported.
According to the coach, both could not report due to personal problems. The squad is likely to have couple of practice matches at UBL Sports Complex. The camp culminates on March 13.
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