LAHORE, Jan 25: Fifty-two out of a total of 56 probables attended the national junior training camp on the first day at the National Hockey Stadium (NHS) on Tuesday.

The camp has been set up for the World Cup to be held in The Netherlands from June 30 to July 10.

Coach Tahir Zaman said that only Shakeel Abbasi, Nadeem Iqbal, Usman Akram and Haseem Khan were absent. He said that Shakeel, most probably to be retained as captain, would join the camp on Wednesday while Nadeem had a knee injury and Usman had an accident.

Haseem was preparing for his matric exams, he said. Tahir, who had been demoted after the team finished fifth in the Athens Olympic, said that the main target ahead of him was the World Cup.

Tahir hoped that he would prepare a strong team for the World Cup as a comprehensive preparation plan had been made, including a series against India, six-nation tournament in Lahore and a European tour. He said that emphasis would be laid on goal keepers as it had been their weak area. Six goalkeepers are attending the training camp.