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LAHORE, Sept 16: Goalkeeper Ahmad Alam, Sohail Abbas and Aamir Saleem were the three players missing on the opening day of the national hockey training camp which started here Monday.
Apart from the three, remaining 22 probables reported at the camp set up at the National Hockey Stadium for the Asian Games to be organized in Busan, South Korea, from Sept 29 to Oct 14.
Asim Chohan, who quit the last camp for the European tour due to injury, has also been called up in addition to the previous squad and standbys.
Kamran Ashraf, who had announced retirement from international hockey Sunday, was also invited for the camp.
The squad will be announced Wednesday without holding the trials.
The probables who reported are: Mohammad Qasim, Tariq Imran, Zeeshan Ashraf, Mohammad Usman, Ghazanfar Ali, Dilawar Hussain, Mohammad Nadeem, Rehan Butt, Mohammad Sarwar, Mudassar Ali, Kashif Jawwad, Waseem Ahmad, Khalid Saleem, Mohammad Shabbir, Salman Akbar, Asim Chohan, Ali Raza, Nadeem Iqbal, Imran Rasool, Shahid Rabbani, Javed Iqbal and Mohammad Aqeel.
Our Sports Reporter adds from Karachi:
Injured striker Atif Bashir Monday decided against joining the camp because of lack of physical fitness.
Atif, suffering from a collarbone injury, said he had been invited but refused since he was not feeling comfortable with his injury.
“I was asked by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) some 15 days back to confirm my availability. I was not sure about my fitness then. But today I intimated the federation I will not be joining the camp because of my injury,” he said.
Atif broke his collarbone during the Rotterdam Champions Trophy last November and fractured the same bone again while playing Kuala Lumpur World Cup in February-March.
The right-in has been out of action since then and may contemplate retiring from competitive game.
“Though the doctors have given me go-ahead, I don’t feel comfortable with the injury which is restricting my movements. I will decide about my career within a month,” Atif said.
