February 22, 2008	Friday	Safar 14, 1429

LAHORE, Feb 21: Hockey team’s chief coach-cum-manager Khawaja Zakuddin said on Thursday that the immediate task ahead of Pakistan is to win the five-Test series in China next month.

“We need a good beginning to kick off our preparations for the Beijing Olympics and we must win the coming series against China,” he told newsmen here on the first day of the national hockey camp which was attended by 34 players.

The former right winger, who served Pakistan from 1958 to 1966, was of the view that Pakistan could not take China lightly since they had improved a lot in recent years and were blending into a winning combination.

“If we look at the previous record, we lost twice to China — in Doha’s Asian Games and then in Asia Cup in Chennai — and played two drawn games against them which is very ordinary show from our players,” he said. “We must improve our record by winning the forthcoming series.”

He said his immediate priority is to improve the defence of the team besides strengthening the goalkeeping department which were Pakistan’s two main weaknesses during the Champions Trophy in Malaysia.

“The coming months are a challenge for the team management as it needs to lift the team for the desired results in the Olympics,” he asserted.

Zaka disclosed that prior to the Beijing Olympics in August, the national team will be playing around thirty matches to fully prepare for the mega event.

“After the tour of China we will be having a month-long tour of Europe in the summer followed by participation in a four-nation tournament in Dublin (Ireland),” he maintained. “If we have to overpower the high-flying Chinese and the European nations, our players will have to enhance their skills and stamina in the field,” he said.

“We are under immense pressure because we are placed at sixth position in the world and need to improve our ranking.”

The senior official dismissed fears of a player-burnout during the hectic schedule of the next six months. “Most of the hockey playing countries are following similar patterns and I believe it is not that much of work load that will exhaust the players,” said Zaka.

“We have scouted fresh talent from the recently concluded National Hockey Championship and will be trying out new players in the coming matches to form a balanced side for the Olympics,” he concluded.—APP