LAHORE, Aug 20: Former Pakistan coach, Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh, has slammed the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) for holding the national training camp in Holland next month to prepare for upcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games. Dawn

Talking to on Friday, Shahnaz, a great striker of his era, expressed his astonishment as to why the federation was holding the camp in Europe when it had to play the Commonwealth Games in India and Asian Games in China.

“No technical man can justify this decision which will only waste the money which can be used to help the flood-affected people,” Shahnaz stressed.

“Yes, I know the PHF officials are justifying their decision by citing the example of 1984 Los Angles Olympic Games when the camp was held in Canada.

“But the weather conditions of Canada and Los Angles, USA, are more or less similar whereas the conditions in Holland are very different from those of India and China,” Shahnaz pointed out.

“We held the camp for the 1968 Mexico Olympics in Lower Toppa, an area near Murree, only because both Mexico and Murree are 5,000 to 6,000 feet above the sea-level. That strategy paid off as we won the gold medal. But here no technical man can support the idea of holding the camp in Europe because you are going to play in Asian countries,” he said.

He said Lahore's weather was quite similar to New Delhi's, where the Commonwealth Games are going to be held from Oct 3 to 14.

“Lahore was the best place to prepare the team for the Commonwealth Games, but I can't understand what forced the PHF to hold the camp in Holland,” he said.

He alleged the PHF had decided to hold the camp in Holland only because Pakistan's Dutch coach Michel Van Den Heuvel did not want to stay in Pakistan for security reasons.

“But just to oblige the Dutch coach it is totally against the national interest to hold the camp in Holland and also pay heavily for that,” he said.

“If the coach will not live in Pakistan, how will he train our national coaches?” he questioned.

Currently the camp is in progress at the Army ground, Abbottabad, a hill station, where the weather is also quite different from the weather of New Delhi and Guangzhou, China.

He disclosed that the PHF would be spending a hefty amount of over Rs20 million for holding the 20-day camp in Holland from the first week of September because at least 24 players would travel to Holland for the camp.

“The air fare would at least be Rs50,000 for each player and each of them would be given $500 for accommodation, travel and daily allowance.”

“The monthly salary of the Dutch coach, which is around $6,000, and his assistant staff is additional to that expense,” he commented.

About expected performance in the upcoming two extravaganzas, Shahnaz said Australia, India and Malaysia were in Pakistan's pool at the Commonwealth Games and it would be tough for the green-shirts to qualify for the next round.

In Guangzhou, though Pakistan's pool was not difficult with India and Japan, they would have to face stern challenge from either Korea or China in the pre-finals.

“I can only pray for Pakistan win but technical mistakes can prove costly,” Shahnaz concluded.