‘Shakeel paid the penalty for defying instructions’
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LAHORE: Experienced hockey striker Shakeel Abbasi who was expelled from the ongoing national training camp on Wednesday for defying team management’s instructions can stage a comeback after Eid.
This was announced by head coach Akhtar Rasool during a news conference here on Thursday.
“Before the start of the camp (which started in Lahore last Monday), it was mutually decided in a meeting that the players won’t fast during the camp due to the tough nature of the training sessions which are being held in hot and humid weather here,” said the head coach.
“The meeting was also attended by the players including Shakeel who went against the instructions on Wednesday to observe fast which prompted the management to ask him to quit the training camp,” said Akhtar.
Elaborating on the training sessions, the head coach said players had a tough schedule which included a session in the morning, gym training in the afternoon and again a session on the field in the afternoon.
“After completing the ground training, players have to attend a video session late in evening to analyse their game which makes it quite a tough regimen for them,” said Akhtar.
“I am a Muslim and fast regularly, but it may be quite risky for the players’ health to work out in these hot and humid conditions.”
Talking about Shakeel’s return, the head coach said: “The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has no such policy to abruptly close doors on any player. Shakeel may be recalled after Ramazan but he has to prove his fitness and form to claim a place in the team.
“The Asia Cup is a do-or-die event for Pakistan who needs to win it to qualify for the upcoming World Cup,” Akhtar said. “We need to prepare hard for it and field our best team for the event.”
The Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from Aug 24 with Pakistan, India, Malaysia and South Korea competing in it.
Akhtar also informed goalkeeper Salman Akbar had joined the camp but he too required to prove his fitness before getting a place in the training camp.
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Comments (36) Closed
Jul 26, 2013 09:55am
What a Islamic Republic that deviate from the Very basic principles and not the trading but the orders of Almighty God inscribed in very first Soora of Holy Book Al-Quran-ul-Hakeem publically.Akhtar Rasool should be tried under Islamic law for declaring their decision not to fast during training session.
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Jul 26, 2013 10:10am
if coach knew fasting make person strong he would have never kick him out. very sad we are going away from our creator and what we will gain
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Jul 26, 2013 10:24am
Subhan Allah... It is NOT a voluntary fast that you can ask players by "mutually" agreeing not to keep. During Ramadan its obligatory, no one has the right to ask anyone not to fast. This is not only against Islam and in total violation of Allah's command this is also a violation of a persons religious right. Pakistan is at least a Muslim majority country if not an Islamic country this kind of stuff is unheard of even in secular countries... really pathetic another low for the nation of Pakistan and its people...
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Jul 26, 2013 10:34am
I want to ask hockey management one question , why you have to do tough training during the holy month of Ramadan ,if a person is respecting his faith who are you to treat him like that ,lastly you consider your self a good Muslim ,shame on you.Remember my humble advice my friend by displeasing Allah Subhanahu Taala you will never be successful, no matter how hard you try.
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Jul 26, 2013 10:42am
They should not organize training camps in Ramazan. Shakeel did the right thing by selecting disobedience to creature than to disobey Creator. Pakistan is created to to live like Muslims. They will not win the Asia Cup, if they defy Allah's commandments like this.
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Jul 26, 2013 11:44am
Very surprising to see the news .. what will happen for Deifying Allah's Instruction.. Shame on you Hockey Federation..
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Jul 26, 2013 11:46am
good show shakeel abbasi.. keep it up..
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Jul 26, 2013 12:39pm
These guys are Muslims right? Shocking. Putting entertainment before religion! No wonder the country is going down the drain.
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Jul 26, 2013 01:11pm
thats so unfair. No where it mentions that Abbasi failed any fitness test. If coach was so concerned with players' fasting he could have given a fitness test. Anyone who follows hockey in this country(and I guess there are very few left) knows that Abbasi is one of the best player we have got in our side. It is about time that hockey management gets some sense and takes things seriously. If we look at the matches our team has played lately, our team has matched every opponent in the competition(that includes mighty Aussies) at one time or another during the match, only to lose the game at the end. This might suggest that there is something wrong with the gameplan the players are given. May be the support staff needs to take their job seriously i.e to 'Support'
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Jul 26, 2013 02:08pm
On one side our leading political parties are boycotting national duty of presidential elections as that is falling in the last 10 days of Ramazan. Politicians are arguing that most of the lawmakers would be busy performing Umrah or sitting in Aitekaf. On the other hand a practising muslim hockey player is being forced not to keep rozas.
If politicians can go to saudi arabia why can't hockey team go to a cooler place like Abbottabad in Ramadan. A synthetic turf is available there
Akhtar Rasool is another seasoned politician and what a hypocrite muslims we are.
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Jul 26, 2013 02:16pm
How would Muslims react if a Muslim sportsman in a non-Muslim country was asked to leave a training camp for observing a tenet of Islam?
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Jul 26, 2013 02:37pm
I'm sorry, I dont get it!!!
He could have fasted and still performed at peak levels. Many professional Muslim footballers around the world fast and play 90 minutes of highly energetic sport. Unless the management had evidence that Shakeel was under-performing as a direct result of fasting they had absolutely no reason to send him home!
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Jul 26, 2013 03:04pm
Fasting in Ramadan is mandatory and is excused in conditions only laid down by Allah(swt) and Mohammad(saw)............
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Jul 26, 2013 03:28pm
The Pakistan hockey federation should be ashamed of themselves for asking somebody not to fast. It should be a persons own deen/imaan that should trigger this decision. If it weren't for Allah's blessing these players wouldn't even have made it to this level.
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Jul 26, 2013 03:57pm
Thumbs up for Shakeel :!
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Jul 26, 2013 04:11pm
I wonder and do wonder as to why fasting by a young man like him will be any impediment in his performance? His body by now must have been used to the new routine. In fact in the evening the digestive system of the one fasting is at its peak of perfomance. The stomach feels utterly light and highly efficient by that time. How do we feel after a break from work? The stomach feels exactly the same and the dividend is that people gets that wonderful feeling of light stomach.
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Jul 26, 2013 04:25pm
respects for shakeel
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Jul 26, 2013 04:47pm
"It was mutually decided in a meeting that the players won
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Jul 26, 2013 04:57pm
I would like to remind out fellow Pakistani citizens of the Hockey selection committee members that we live in a Muslim country and fasting has been made obligatory by our creator and hockey training is not.
This is the month of Mercy and we should devot our days and nights to the worship of GOD. If the training is really required then the timings needs to be altered and not the other way around.
I would like to also remind the hockey selection committee to go and read histroy and see what the Sahab's were able to do while they were fasting.
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Jul 26, 2013 05:08pm
He did the right thing. Unfortunately our atheist government and sports bodies are forcing unislamic values on our players. It is a shame that players are not allowed to fast. We as a Muslim nation should demand a reschedule of the tournament . It ca be done.it is a shame that for an insignificant material value our government imposes or forces unislamic practices. May Allah give us guidance and courage to respect our Islamic values...May Aallah bless this Tiger of Pakistan ...
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Jul 26, 2013 05:35pm
Pakistan has all kind of problems and most of the time almost everybody blames Islam for it. We call our self Muslims but in reality we are simply a playing a role of Muslim but not practicing Islam. Most of us can not even recite few verses of Quran and the only role Islam has in our lives when a Muslim Pakistani dies he gets a Namaz Janaza and buried in Muslim grave yards. Reading this article clearly shows, why on one hand we have Taliban (hate mongers) and on the other hand we characters like " Akhtar Rasool". Both completely lack basic understanding of Islam. Fasting in the Month of Ramadan is Farad for all able healthy Muslims. Hockey or no Hockey you can not pass on Ramadan because you have to prepare for a hockey event, remember fasting is Farad. There are places in the world like Alaska, Seattle (USA) nineteen hours long fasting. Muslim living in these areas don't complain about long days and they do fasting in the Month of Ramadan because it is a Farad. Just Imagine for these Muslims after fasting for 19 hours they still go for Tarvee and next day back to work. Really a true Islam is being followed by the Muslim living in the west. It is a shameful act to let go of one the Pillars of Islam for sports. On the day of judgment you will not be asked how many goals did you score for Pakistan but you will definitely be asked, why didn't you fasted in the month of Ramadan? Islam is the only solution for our problems, learn Quran with Tafseer and follow the basic pillars of Islam. All of Pakistan problem are due to not following and acting upon the basic pillars of Islam. The day we start following Islam peace will come back to Pakistan. No Muslim will kill another Muslim or any other minority because Islam has such a strong message against war mongers. If you kill one innocent person is like killing the entire humanity and saving one person is like saving the entire humility.
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Jul 26, 2013 06:12pm
Lost all my respect for Akhtar Rasool!
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Jul 26, 2013 06:24pm
Lots of Respect to Shakeel Abbasi. Being a muslim it was his duty to fast & that is what he did. I wonder & infact doubt that the people who ousted him know the worth of Ramadhan. Pity on them, they removed him over followings God's order, what sort of Muslims are they. Dear hocky federation first U r Muslims, then the rest...
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Jul 26, 2013 06:27pm
We can fast in the West and play but not in Muslim country. Hashim Amla time again fasted and he was respected by his board and team mates. Who will take action against the Hockey federation. Where is our Suo Motto Judge.
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Jul 26, 2013 06:50pm
Asia cup is next month. It is a fact that fasting and physical training do not go hand in hand. It is risky to ones health. Construction workers in Pakistan, Middle East do not fast during Ramadan either. ALLAH has clearly stipulated Kafara for missing any fast in QURAN as well.
By reading the comment below, Pakistan should ban all kinds of construction, training camps, or real physical work during month of Ramadan.
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Jul 26, 2013 07:16pm
This truly is a farce. Roza is farz and hockey, cricket or infact army training shouldn't be reason to break it. Not only does all the hockey players are breaking the fast except one, same goes for our national cricket team. All of them break fast except Afridi!! in the army baracks officers are also allowed not to have roza!! did you guys knew that???
someone has said it so beautifully: pathan jane ramzan jane. many people in pakistan don't fast. yet pakistan was built in the name of islam and still regulary exports terrrorism to other countries/tries to teach other countries how to practice islam.
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Jul 26, 2013 07:20pm
Come on.. a player looses place cause he fasted in Ramadaan in Pakistan... am i dreaming... look at his performance... he is muslim and would fast... what strange place is pakistan.. anyways i am sure it falls under blasphemy for stopping someone from fasting, infact punishing him cause he fasted in ramadaan...
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Jul 26, 2013 07:29pm
So winning the world cup is more important than fasting in Ramadan? And then Akhtar Rasool says he is a Muslim!!! Muslims are those who submit fully to their Master. The Master is saying that fasting in this month is obligatory and these so called Muslims are saying "we can mutually agree not to fast".
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3696 Narrated by An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "A creature is not to be obeyed when it involves disobedience to the Creator."
Respect for Shakeel Abbasi.
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Jul 26, 2013 07:35pm
Look at bulbous,rotund, out of shape Akhtar Rasool. Out of all these people he needs excercise.What a coach, what has he accomplished ? For that matter Qasim Zia & Khizar Bajwa , both have nothing to show for the success of national team. Nepotism is the name of the game.
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Jul 26, 2013 07:38pm
Could it be that people mis-understand the issue here? The PHF is obligated to look after the health of the players. They gave Shakeel a choice. And he choose to fast. I think it is a win-win situation. Each party did there job and we should all live happily ever after.
If anything, this is sensational journalism. Note, what appears to be a quote as the title, it doesn't up any where in the content. If anything, the author, Mohammad Yaqoob, needs to clarify the matters here.
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Jul 26, 2013 08:13pm
As an Indian Muslim i am amused with the reactions of Pakistanis...learn to place country above your religion and you will find yourself better off
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Jul 26, 2013 08:22pm
To all the people out there blaming Akhter Rasool please for God's sake try and understand where he is comig from. "If we loose this tournament then we would not qualify for the world cup". Don't you guys get it. This is a do or die situation here and none of you commenting on this site have even touched a hockey stick before. Forget playing hockey as you guys don't know how rigorous playing hockey is,especially if one is fasting. Akhter Rasool is an experience campaigner and knows the effects fasting can have on a person's body as they can become dehydrated and dehydration can have serious side effects such as kidney failure,seizures,palpitations,confusion, fainting and can also lead to death. For those of you calling Akhter names and making him look like a monster please refrain from this act as he is as good a person as any one of us and is not doing this to hurt any one's feelings. Please understand what he is trying to do. If we lost this chance then the same people who are calling him names now would ask for his resignation. Let him do his job. He knows what he is doing. Trust him please.
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Jul 26, 2013 08:38pm
This is a very shameful piece by DAWN. I am so ashamed to read how it is written. I knew after reading the piece and before reading the comments, that people with rip apart Akhtar Rasool. It is so badly written that anybody will consider Rasool as urging the players to forgo compulsory fasting. Being a Muslim, I cannot believe that he would want that. It is the responsibility of the players as well as the management, not to participate in events that are organized in Ramadan. I remember that a few years back Muhammad Yousuf excused himself from participating in some international matches held during Ramadan. I am pretty sure, there would be other players like him. Did Shakeel Abbasi not know about the team instructions prior to committing to join the camp? I do not know Akhtar Rasool, personally, neither do I know Shakeel Abbasi. But ALLAH knows both and ALLAH knows their intentions. May DAWN get better writers and as well as sensible readers. Ameen.
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Jul 26, 2013 08:50pm
@Tariq: You know how.. there would be riots and zaid hamid would be at every show... but it happens in pakistan... no one cares..
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Jul 27, 2013 05:41pm
@Masoud:
This thinking is going to destroy islam and Pakistan.
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Jul 28, 2013 11:21am
ASTAGHFIRULLAH, why management can't post pone the training schedule after Ramadan. This such a blessed month. What an opportunity missed which is once an year. Management is accountable to Allah swt for this. The players must back off and oppose management. There should be no compromise here. I said the same about PCB scheduling cricket series in West Indies. Fear Allah subhanu wa tallah.
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