ISLAMABAD, June 10: A key official of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Tuesday declared that they were keeping all their options open in the wake of national team’s bitterly disappointing performance in Australia.

“We will wait for the team manager to submit his tour report, discuss the matter with him and the coach and analyse the videos before taking any major decision,” Brig Musarratullah Khan, the PHF secretary told Dawn.

Pakistan, under manager Shahnaz Shaikh lost back to back four-team tournaments in Perth and Sydney this month finishing with a wooden spoon in both. The defeat was made all the more bitter as archrivals India won the second tournament last week while being runner-up in the first.

Musarrat pointed out that although the PHF would not make any hasty decisions, he felt that something seriously went wrong. “Losing 1-2 to India one day and then drawing 4-4 with them only goes to show that there were hiccups somewhere which will have to be removed quickly with the Champions Trophy coming up.”

“The forward line seemed to lack thrust and there were flaws in some other areas. But then again to rectify them, we will have to analyse each and everything after getting all the input.”

He agreed that the PHF now faced a difficult situation as the Champions Trophy in Holland was just two months away but however did not say clearly if it required a change in team management. “We will be analysing every little detail and then take action accordingly.”

Pakistan were hoping to gain a psychological advantage going into the Champions Trophy by beating Australia and India in the two tournaments Down Under that also featured an Australian A side. But things took such a turn that a team which won the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia only two months ago fared so poorly.

After the Azlan Shah win it was thought that the side would build on their success and peak in time for the Champions Trophy, a title Pakistan have not won since 1994. However now the situation for the managers seems quite grim.

Meanwhile, the PHF has agreed to host China for a number of matches against the Pakistan junior and senior strings next month. “The Chinese were keen on touring and we told them that since this tour of theirs was not budgeted, they would have to pay for their own boarding and lodging while their other expenses would be borne by us,” Musarrat said.

China will be playing matches in Pakistan between July 8 and 24. They have also been invited to attend a nine-nation tournament in Lahore this December.