November 24, 2007	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 13, 1428

KARACHI, Nov 23: The newly appointed Pakistan hockey captain Salman Akbar on Friday said that the national hockey team was leaving for the 29th Champions Trophy in Kuala Lumpur with a positive frame of mind and was keen to restore the game’s dented image.

“Our past performance is haunting us and a big win will change the mood in our camp,” he told newsmen on the eve of the team’s departure for the elite eight-nation competition which commences November 29.

“We need a couple of good wins against top teams to boost our confidence and that could prove a vital factor in the Champions Trophy,” said the 25-year-old custodian from Lahore who has played 120 internationals for Pakistan since making his debut in 2001.

“The team must break the jinx in Malaysia and the boys are eager to achieve something substantial in the toughest event of world hockey,” Salman maintained.

“The past is history and we are now looking at the future. Every event is a new event so just about anything can happen,” he said while referring to Pakistan’s ordinary show in the Azlan Shah Cup, the four-nation events in Moscow and Beijing and in the Asia Cup this year.

“Our mission is to go all out to win every match we play. We are not worried about our standing or our opponent’s,” he added. “We have prepared hard and our team is reinforced with the return of three experienced players — Zeeshan, Ghazanfar and Dilawar,” he pointed out.

“To add to that, we have got a bunch of talented youngsters in Afzal, Inayatullah, Arshad and Shabbir who can bring good results.”

Pakistan coach Manzoor-ul-Hasan said his team was a blend of youth and experience and added that it was capable of doing well in Malaysia. “Yes, recent history is not with us but the team is eager to achieve better results in the Champions Trophy,” he said.

Pakistan squad: Salman Akbar (captain), Nasir Ahmed, Zeeshan Ashraf (vice-captain), Mohammad Imran, Kashif Ali, Mohammad Kamran, Ghazanfar Ali, Dilawar Hussain Bhatti, Imran Khan Yousufzai, Adnan Maqsood, Sajjad Anwar, Waqas Sharif, Shakeel Abbasi, Waqas Akbar, Abbas Haider, Akhtar Ali, Mohammad Arshad, Shabbir Ahmed Khan, Inayatullah, Mohammad Afzal. Khawaja Zakauddin (manager/chief coach) Manzoor-ul-Hassan, (coach), Faiz-ur-Rehman (physio), Nadeem Khan Lodhi (video analyst) are the officials accompanying the team.—Agencies