ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: National selector Brig. Khalid Sajjad Khokhar Wednesday called for an end to criticism of the hockey team on the eve of the Champions Trophy, saying it was doing the side more harm than good.

Khokhar who managed Pakistan at the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year said that condemnation in the wake of Pakistan’s 7-1 semifinal loss to New Zealand at last week’s Commonwealth Games in Manchester was out of place.

“It is indeed a disappointment for the team to lose by such a big margin, but we must understand that the boys at this point of time need to be encouraged for a competition that is far tougher than the Commonwealth Games.”

“When goalkeeper Ahmed Alam was out there was criticism that he be brought back. Now that he is in, critics are gunning at him again. Similarly there are other players who are under fire. What we need to do is to boost their morale but here we are dampening their spirits.”

“The players should not be training in humid conditions at home for a competition that is being held in a European country,” Khokhar pointed out. “Besides coming back would involve a lot of expenditure.”

He felt that Tahir Zaman and Asif Bajwa being both new coaches did not deserve the flak so soon after taking up the Pakistan job.

Khokhar said that postmortem of what happened at the Commonwealth Games should be done after the Champions Trophy. Pakistan’s opening match in the tournament is against Germany.