Hockey federation appoints new selection committee, head coach

E-Paper | March 12, 2026

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Brig (retd) Muhammad Khalid Sajjad Khokhar on Thursday announced the appointment of a new national selection committee and management for the senior hockey team "with immediate effect".

According to a statement issued by the federation, Hassan Sardar has been appointed the chairman of the national selection committee, while Ayaz Mahmood and Syed Musaddiq Hussain have been appointed as members of the committee.

Farhat Hassan Khan has been appointed as head coach, while Malik Mohammad Shafqat and Mohammad Sarwar have been appointed coaches till December 2018, the statement added.

Newly appointed head coach Farhat Khan was optimistic that the national team's performance could be improved through introducing positive and aggressive mindset among players.

"In past, Pakistan was the power house of Hockey and I still do believe that we can achieve the best results," he said while talking to DawnNews.

Farhat, a member of the now dissolved selection committee, was also a critic of his predecessor Khawaja Junaid's policies. Farhat said he did not believe in setting long term goals, instead, his focus would be to start winning from the beginning or the first match.

"I don't like defeat, we had a glorious past in Hockey and I witnessed a great era, I do believe in winning every match and I am hopeful that by adopting a policy of aggressive game, we can produce good results," he added.

He showed full confidence in the new selection committee and said, "Hasan Sardar and Mussadiq Hussain were better hockey players than me and I keep a firm belief that whatever team they select, it will be in the interest of Pakistan hockey."

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Salman Ahmad

Jul 20, 2017 10:11pm

I hope Hasan Sardar and Farhat khan will make a winning combination.

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Yankee Cricket Fan

Jul 20, 2017 11:54pm

And the disaster continues.....I cannot believe that these former players don't know that you need to build a nucleus of good players who have to be groomed over a period of time before they can jell into a winning combination. I hope the new selection committee finds good players who can be groomed into a team that can produce results immediately, but reality is that new players will likely take some time before they start producing. The sooner the current administration realizes that the better.

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Badar Munir

Jul 21, 2017 12:27am

Wasn't Farhat a very unfit and overweight player?

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Statistician

Jul 21, 2017 12:44am

Million iterations of a failed experiment will not change the outcome. Long term solution is to revive the game at the grass root level and a short term solution may be to search for raw talent not just in Gujranwala but all over the country and have a foreign coach involved. Today's hockey is quite different from what it used to be in the Hasan Sardar era.

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Desi

Jul 21, 2017 02:02am

Just look at the physique of our players and Europeans or Australians. We are not physically fit to play competitive hockey at international level. This is basic before you start selecting players for the team. Make them fit first.

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Jul 21, 2017 02:56am

Still, not focusing on the problem(President and Secretary of PFH). I don't think this change will bring any improvement if appointments are based on favoritism and loyalty instead of quality

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Hamad

Jul 21, 2017 04:14am

i love hockey as politicians love money

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Nasr

Jul 21, 2017 11:31am

Hassan was a top and outstanding player Best center forward in the world. but has ben involved in scandal outside his hockey career. Pakistan hockey remained under the rein of Ayaz Mehmood also for a long time but he was unable to deliver too. We need enhancement in grassroot hockey in the country. The current generation of children should be shown the games of the Hockey Mavericks of the past. The stories of the heroes of Pakistan Hockey will create passion among the ne generation. Training and fitness should also start at the grassroot level and then we can expect any result.

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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Jul 22, 2017 02:23pm

What else can the PHF do but to effect a much needed change in the administration part of the team which is currently in crisis and at its lowest ebb wherein internationally, they have consistently and persistently lost matches against even those second rated global teams to whom their predecessors taught how to play field hockey in the past?

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Jul 23, 2017 01:52am

Skills can be improved but at the moment I feel our sports teams lack the confidence/Drive to win - they are too close at times and just fail to cross the final hurdle. Having said that - there is no magic formula - you need to keep working hard in camps - working on tactics and learning to play smart. Keep playing good international teams and most importantly work is required at grass root level - I feel all the past big names will be better off focusing on grass root level rather than getting their name muddied at senior level

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Jul 23, 2017 03:59am

Better appoint a foreign coach (Australian or Dutch) and send the probables on English/ Dutch language course! But on a serious note - language/public speaking course should be mandatory part of training camps program along with drills to improve mental fitness as I see player lacks confidence to perform at highest level

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