KARACHI, Oct 22: The hiring of so-called “professional” coaches by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has never really served much purpose, a fact which was confirmed once again by the absence of paid coach Manzoorul Hassan from the national camp for a second consecutive day on Monday.

Although the camp, set up at the Hockey Club of Pakistan in preparation of the Nov 29 to Dec 9 Champions Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, commenced on Sunday with 30 probables reporting for it, the former Olympian is yet to join it.

According to team manager-cum-chief coach Islahuddin Siddiqui, Manzoor could not join the camp as his department PIA did not release him for the national duty. Manzoor was expected to join on Monday but the sessions were held in his absence owing to the bureaucratic red-tape.

However, the scenario paints a gloomy picture since Manzoor, like Islah, is also a paid team official – a step which has been taken by the PHF for the first time. The decision to pay the team officials is part of “incentive programme” by the PHF to bring “professionalism” to Pakistan hockey.

Manzoor’s absence, however, belies tall claims by PHF. If Manzoor, who is a PIA station manager in Faisalabad, has been hired by the PHF as a coach, he must ensure that he is available round the year throughout his tenure.

Speaking of professionalism, a couple of visits to the camp venue showed that there is hardly any impact of hiring team officials on huge remuneration.

On the first day of the camp, for instance, Islah was seen talking to a private TV channel during the evening practice session while on Monday, the former Pakistan captain strolled back to have a break, perhaps, because he is finding it hard to cope up with the pressure of work in the absence of Manzoor.

Meanwhile, Islah lashed out at Sohail Abbas and Waseem Ahmad for opting away from the camp without information but remained tight-lipped when asked to comment on Sohail’s refusal to join the camp.

“The players or their department should at least inform team management when they will join or whether they will be available. Since Sohail and Waseem have not informed me about their plans, I can’t comment any further.”

The pair is currently playing in the Dutch League and have no plans to join camp, although the PHF has invited them despite imposing life bans last December for their act of skipping the Doha Asian Games camp and preferring foreign leagues over local activity.

The former selector also shied away from comment when asked if the Champions Trophy preparation will be hampered by Sohail’s absence and what action could be taken if the pair didn’t report for the camp. “I can’t say anything now,” was all Islah could come up with.

Ex-coach Shahnaz Sheikh had suggested at the time of Doha Games that Sohail, Waseem, along with Mohammad Saqlain, Ghazanfar Ali and Dilawar Hussain should never be considered in future.