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| April 21, 2003 | Monday | Safar 18, 1424 |
Manager sets eyes on Champions Trophy
ISLAMABAD, April 20: Pakistan hockey manager Shahid Hamid Jaffery vowed on Sunday that his side would put in their best to win the prestigious Champions Trophy in Holland this August.
“Our target is to win the Athens Olympics next year but we do not want to lose the Champions Trophy either,” he said of the elite six-team tournament that Pakistan have not won since 1994.
While making it clear that the team was still in the process of building, he said the players however were confident having beaten Germany and Korea recently in the Azlan Shah Tournament, a title they claimed last month in Malaysia.
“The two forthcoming tournaments in Australia would give us a chance to experiment following which we would have a clear picture of things for the Champions Trophy.”
The Champions Trophy is slated to take place in Amstelveen between August 16 and 24 while the first of the two competitions Down Under is due to run from May 29 to June 1 in Perth. The second tournament, in Sydney, is pencilled in for June 4 to 8.
“The events in Australia also provide us a good opportunity to see how effectively the mistakes of the Azlan Shah tournament have been rectified.”
Shahid said all the players would be fully active playing in two domestic tournaments in Peshawar and Khushab after which they would report for training in the national camp starting in Lahore later this month.
The new team management of coach Shahnaz Shaikh and assistant coach Tahir Zaman along with Shahid, appointed last year, have shown immediate results by capturing the Azlan Shah crown. “Having won this title is good but we have to win the ones that really matter,” Shahid said.
Meanwhile Shahnaz told Dawn that for him winning every tournament was important, be it the Azlan Shah Cup or the upcoming competitions Down Under.
“My motto remains unchanged, we have to win and not be content by finishing second or third.”
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