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KARACHI Former hockey legends as well as Pakistan Hockey Federation's (PHF) top brass have hailed the success of Pakistan's under-18 team in the recently-concluded AHF Junior Asia Cup in Yangon, Myanmar.
The exciting final of the 11-day tournament on Sunday saw Pakistan beating Malaysia 4-3 to not only take the cup but also qualify for the 2010 Youth Olympics hockey tournament in Singapore.
Reaching the final by beating all the major competitions in their pool including Sri Lanka (11-0), India (4-3), Malaysia (4-3) and Japan 4-0, Pakistan met Malaysia again in the final to edge past them by 4-3.
'It was your paper which in the curtain raiser to the recent World Cup qualifiers in Lille, France, had called it 'a moment of truth for Pakistan hockey'. Well, we passed that test and now our junior team has taken the Junior Asia Cup, too. I think we have moved beyond the moment of truth and are on our way to making a dream come true,' said a jubilant PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa, while speaking to Dawn before the team's return on Monday.
'We don't believe in making empty promises. The PHF has been fulfilling each and every promise made to the nation about bringing back the glory days of hockey to this country and we took two big strides in that direction this month in the shape of victories in the qualifiers and the Junior Asia Cup,' he added.
'There is plenty more to do and I urge our seniors to join hands with us and add more strength to the federation,' he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Selector Hasan Sardar was of the view that all the trouble taken by the PHF during the Junior Hockey Super League in September was worth the effort.
'Not yet tried in any domestic tournament other than the junior league, when we made sure of their correct ages by carrying out a strict scrutiny while also involving NADRA, the boys are absolutely raw. And they performed beyond everyone's expectations, even beating twice a strong side like Malaysia who were playing with a far more experienced side which was formed two years ago,' he said.
Elaborating further, Hasan said 'We had picked 45 boys from the junior league of which we short listed this under-18 squad. You'd remember we'd disqualified some 78 boys to make sure those playing in the event were the correct age. Making sure not to be wasting any talent, we also called back the good players from those disqualified for our Under-22 camp for the Saarc Games. So we are happy to have built a big pool of fresh talent, which is growing at a steady pace,' he said.
Sending his heartiest felicitations to the team and its new management, including Olympians Khawaja Junaid (chief coach), Kamran Ashraf and Anjum Saeed (assistant coaches), Olympian Shahnaz Ahmed Sr was of the view that Pakistan's win in the junior event was a good omen for Pakistan hockey as it is after all these junior boys who are to make the national team one day.
Backing him on that, Olympian Islahuddin Siddiqui said 'The exposure must have given them an idea of the challenges lying ahead. They have a long way to go and they have to work very hard setting a trend for the other children who follow them.'
The tournament featured 12 teams, namely Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka, Korea, Japan, Bangladesh, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Thailand and hosts Myanmar. Pakistan were placed in Pool 'A' with India, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka and the hosts.
PHF President Qasim Zia has announced a cash prize of Rs50,000 for each player of the triumphant team.
