July 21, 2003	Monday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 20, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, July 20: Former Pakistan hockey manager Shahnaz Sheikh has served a legal notice on Wapda claiming in damages Rs200million for tarnishing his reputation.

Shahnaz told journalists on Sunday that his job as manager suffered because of the allegations levelled against him by Wapda as did his reputation.

“I was under mental torture for the past couple of months and it is only fair that I be compensated.”

The controversy involving Shahnaz Shaikh and Wapda’s national players Waseem Ahmad and Sohail Abbas had led to his eventual resignation in June after just seven months in charge.

Both players chose to play in league in Germany without seeking permission from the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) with Wapda officials alleging it was the manager who had incited them to go abroad.

A PHF inquiry committee this month, however, cleared Shahnaz of any wrongdoing while recommending a one-year ban and fines on both players.

Shahnaz described how tense he was after learning about the inquiry being held against him while on tour in Australia where Pakistan appeared in two tournaments last month. “Just hours before the important match against India, a Pakistani reporter broke the news to me and sought my comments. “I was trying to focus on the game at hand and I obviously felt upset about the whole affair.”

“I was under constant pressure for over two months and my international reputation which I earned over the years as a player, coach, manager and selector suffered badly. My family members were upset too about the events.”

Shahnaz, a former Olympian who represented Pakistan in 101 international matches, said that Wapda officials should get the notice in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, Shahnaz felt that there was a hidden lobby in the PHF that was not allowing it to produce good results. “I think the bosses need to understand its seriousness and try and arrest it.”

He pointed out that with the PHF doing everything it could, why was it then that good results were not forthcoming. “I have no doubt in my mind that this lobby is actively at work and is bent upon destroying our hockey.”

The only title of any significance Pakistan won after a long barren run was the Azlan Shah Cup in March under Shahnaz. Disappointing defeats in two successive tournaments in Australia in June followed that victory.

But Shahnaz said that he was confident that Pakistan with Sohail, Waseem and Mohammad Nadeem in the squad could win next month’s elite Champions Trophy in the Netherlands. “This team has the potential and the temperament of bringing home the trophy.”

He also suggested that the PHF and the coach should enter into a contract. “If you sign a contract while hiring a foreign coach why cannot this be done with home coaches,” he asked.

He called upon the PHF bosses to exercise patience in whatever they do and not to take decisions in haste. “Patience is what our hockey needs.”