ISLAMABAD: A 20-member Pakistan hockey squad reached Amsterdam as part of its 15-day Europe tour.

According to a media release issued by the Pakistan Hockey Federation on Saturday, the national team during the European trip will play six international matches before participating in the Asia Cup being held in Jakarta from May 21.

Prior to the matches, the Pakistan team will train in Belgium for three days. Pakistan will play two matches against the Netherlands on April 26 and 27 in Breda. Then on April 28, the greenshirts will attend a training session in Belgium before playing the only match against the hosts on April 29.

The Pakistan team will leave for Spain on May 1 to play a three-match series against the hosts. All three matches will be played in Barcelona on May 2, 3, and 4.

On May 5, the national team will fly back home.

Head coach Siegfried Aikman in a video statement expressed the optimism that the Pakistan players would perform well during the tour.

“The Europe tour will boost the morale of our players, which is necessary for their outstanding show in the upcoming Asia Cup. The matches can be used to gauge the performance of players,” the coach said.

According to Aikman, the tour will help identify the grey areas of the team.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Akmal and Abdullah Ishtiaq

Defenders: Mubbasher Ali; Amad Butt; Mohammad Abdullah; Arbaz Ali; Mohammad Rizwan and Hammad Anjum

Midfielders: Umar Bhutta (captain); Ali Shaan (vice-captain); Ghazzanfer; Moin Shakeel; Abdul Manan and Junaid Manzoor.

Forwards: Abubaker Mehmood; Roman Khan; Rana Waheed; Hanan Shahid; Salman Razak and Ajaz Manager: Khawaja Junaid.

Officials: Siegfried Aikman (head coach). Assistant coach: Waseem Ahmad (assistant coach), Nadeem Lodhi (video analyst).

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2022