KARACHI: It was an afternoon of contrasting expressions at the Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP) on Tuesday. While the visiting Chinese hockey contingent sounded grateful and were all praise for Pakistan hockey, the national hockey team coach was a picture of denial and contradictions during a joint press conference held at the HCP.
The Chinese team leader Li Gaochao, flanked by team manager Yang Liu, coaches Guo Jie, Lu Han, Meng Lizhi and Cheng Zhiwen and interpreter Liu Dongwei, said he was grateful for the opportunity extended to the Chinese Hockey Association by the PHF to play in Pakistan. “We were very touched by the warm welcome we received at the airport on Monday,” he said.
Giving a bit of history about hockey in China, Gaochao said that it was in the 1970s that four of their coaches were invited here by Pakistan to get acquainted with the game.
“That was some 40 years ago. The game has been developing in China ever since. It is also promoted at the school and college levels in China.
“We are aware of how passionate the people of Pakistan are about their national sport and we want to take that kind of love for hockey back with us to our country now,” he said.
The Chinese hockey team is the first foreign hockey team to be playing in Pakistan in seven years. They will play two Tests in Karachi (Dec 21 & 22) followed by one in Faisalabad (Dec 24) and another in Lahore (Dec 25).
Earlier, PHF secretary Asif Bajwa and chairman selection committee Hanif Khan welcomed the 28-member (20 players and eight officials) Chinese delegation.
Asked if they were satisfied with the security arrangements made for them in Pakistan, the team said that they have no concerns as regards security now, although it had crossed their minds earlier.
“When we aired our concern to the Pakistan Hockey Federation, they rightly pointed out to us that the people of Pakistan see the people of China as their best friends and brothers.
“Our team would be perfectly safe in such a friendly environment, and from what I have seen so far, they were right, too,” said Gaochao.
About their expectations from the tour, he said: “We want to learn Pakistan hockey team’s superior skill. The green shirts will be more like our teachers throughout the series. We carry very high respect for them,” Li Gaochao said.
The press conference followed a two-hour practice session by the Chinese team a little earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, the presser gave a good opportunity to members of the media to find out what really had gone wrong with the Pakistan hockey team at the recently concluded Champions Trophy in Auckland, New Zealand, where the green shirts finished seventh out of eight teams.
Khawaja Junaid, who is acting as the team coach besides managing the side in the absence of Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel who is on Christmas leave, said that he was glad that the federation was able to end the international event drought in Pakistan by inviting the Chinese team here.
“By getting the team here, the PHF has opened the door which had remained closed after the Sri Lankan cricket team incident in March 2009,” Junaid pointed out.
“It is always a big thing for the host country when a foreign team visits. The Chinese team’s accepting our invitation will also help promote hockey in Pakistan,” he added.
Asked about his statement regarding the national team’s satisfactory show in the Champions Trophy at Auckland, Junaid clarified he had never stated anything like that. “I have to say that I had never said that I was satisfied with their show there,” he stressed.
However, when reminded that it was a documented fact and something that the team management had stated soon after landing in Pakistan after their return from Auckland, Junaid said: “Well, that was our federation President Qasim Zia’s opinion.
As far as the management is concerned, we were really keen to see the team qualifying for the next Champions Trophy which didn’t happen. That is unfortunate.
“But thanks to the tournament, we really got to know about our weaknesses and shortcomings well before the London Games,” he pointed out.
Asked what exactly the weaknesses were, he said: “Consistency in play. We have discovered that the boys play well in patches of 20 to 25 minutes. We are looking into achieving continuous harmony in their actions.”
When quizzed about team not exactly appearing as a well-knit, cohesive unit in Champions Trophy, Junaid said he could explain that.
“Big foreign teams are experts at breaking combinations and team work, which is what you all saw during the Champions Trophy. The boys are very united otherwise.”
When asked how a team that won the three-nation tournament after beating Australia could do so poorly at the Champions Trophy, Junaid said that they always considered that the victory Down Under was rather premature and that the team should not be judged on that.
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