LAHORE: Forty-five probables were invited on Saturday to attend the national hockey training camp being held at Johar Town Hockey Stadium, Lahore from Jan 17 to Feb 14.

All the probables are advised to report to camp commandant Khawaja Junaid by Tuesday.

Newly-appointed Pakistan head coach Siegfried Aikman of the Netherlands will arrive in Lahore to conduct the camp along with coaches Ahmad Alam, Ajmal Khan Lodhi and Sameer Hussain.

In view of the deficient goalkeeping resources of the national senior and junior teams, six goalkeepers have been invited to the camp.

In their last assignments, both the teams produced dismal shows. Last month, the senior team participated in the Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka where the green-shirts finished a poor fourth.

The junior team also failed to perform earning a miserable 11th position at the 16-team World Cup staged in Bhubaneswar, India last November-December.

According to reports, the management of both the teams expressed their concerns over the poor performance of the goalkeepers who conceded easy goals in the said events.

Aikman during the camp will observe the country’s best available talent in order to prepare a strong team as Pakistan not only have to compete in five international events this year, they also have to improve their world ranking, which is currently 18th.

Pakistan’s senior team during 2022 will feature in the Asia Cup, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, five-a-side tournament and a six-nation tournament in Spain.

Probables:

Goalkeepers: Mazhar Abbas, Amjad Ali, Ishtiaq, Akmal Hussain, Muneeb-ur-Rehman, Waqar Ahmad; Defenders: Mubashir Ali, Emmad Shakil Butt, Abubakar Mahmood, Mohammad Abdullah, Hammad Anjum, Aqeel Ahmad, Tazeem-ul-Hasan, Arbaz, Rizwan Ali; Midfielders/forwards: Mohammad Umar Bhutta, Ali Shan, Rana Waheed, Junaid Manzoor, Ahmad Nadeem, Afraz, Ghazanfar Ali, Ijaz Ahmad, Salman Razzaq, Abdul Hanan, Abdul Rehman, Adeel Lateef, Roman Khan, Abuzar, Navid Alam, Hamza Waheed, Ghazanfar Ali, Abul Manan, Mohibullah, Obaidullah, Aleem Usman, Shahzaib Khan, Hasan Amin, Shahzaib, Hasan Amin, Shahzaib (Azad Kashmir), Abdul Rehman, Nohaiz Zahid Malik, Sameen, Zakriya Hayat.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2022