'Rebel' players recalled for European tour

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'Rebel' players recalled for European tour

Agencies Published June 7, 2012

Shakeel Abbasi. -Photo by AFP

KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has decided to include the 'rebel' players in the 18-member squad for Pakistan's tour to Europe starting on Friday, DawnNews reported.

While talking to the media, Asif Bajwa, the secretary of PHF said that Mohammad Imran, Shakeel Abbasi and Mohammad Waseem will leave for Europe with the team on Friday while Rehan Butt has been called for a pre-Olympics training camp.

Pakistan's European tour will begin from June 8 during which they will be playing against teams from Germany, Belgium and Netherlands. The training camp for the Olympics will begin for the Greenshirts from June 24 in Lahore.

Sohail Abbas, who led the Greenshirts at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia, has been retained as captain for the European tour as well.

The PHF, which had previously imposed heavy monetary fines on eight players for participating in the World Series Hockey (WSH), also reduced the amount. Butt and Abbasi, who were fined 1 million, have now been asked to pay Rs. 100, 000 while Mohammad Waseem, Zeeshan Ashraf and Imran Warsi's fines have been reduced to Rs. 50, 000.

The recalled players are a part of group of five players who have been pardoned by the PHF after they submitted their appeals. The remaining three players Mudassar Ali Khan, Tariq Aziz and Adnan Maqsood who did not submit their appeals have been given a ten-day period.

PHF brought back the discarded players after Pakistan's abysmal performance at the Azlan Shah Cup where the Greenshirts finished last.

European Tour Squad:

Mohammad Imran, Shakeel Abbasi, Mohammad Waseem, Imran Shah (goalkeeper), Mohammad Irfan, Kashif Shah, Mohammad Khalid, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mehmood, Rizwan Junior, Umar Tauseef, Mohammad Waqas, Shafqat Rasool, Umar Bhutta, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Rizwan Senior, Ali Shan.

Training camp invitees:

Mohammad Zuabir, Shabbir Khan, Imran Butt, Rehan Butt, Mohammad Atiq,Hammad Butt, Afridi, Mohammad Arsalan,Mohammad Irfan, Salim Nazim, Muzammal Bhatti, Zohaib Khan and Dilbir Hussain.

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Dr. Saqib Sadiq

Jun 07, 2012 04:07pm

I was and still a lover of field hockey. A person like me and I am sure majority of people of Pakistan who understood hockey used to watch the game with enthusiasm whther it was olympic, world cup or champions trophy. We used to be awake late night and sometimes in the vee hours (due to time difference) to watch matches and see our heros contest the toughest teams abroad and win glory fort he country. Why can't we produce players like Islahuddin, Akhtar Rasool , Samiullah, Kalimullah, Rasheed Junior, Manzoor-ul-Hasan, Munawwar-uz-Zaman and other notables from the 70s and 80s? Its really a pity that we now just make it to qualify for an international tournament and at one time we always bagged either 1st or 2nd position and automatically qualified for any tournament. The way things are, we might see the fading away of field hockey from the sub-continent.

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PHF

Jun 08, 2012 05:56am

I agree with you DR .......Those player you mention were patriotic..... Now days you can count on few players in forward line rest of them in Politics

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PHF

Jun 08, 2012 05:59am

I agree with you DR .......Those player you mention were patriotic.....

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Michael Warner

Jun 08, 2012 06:58am

There is no talent in hockey left in the country. The players we use to have in 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and even in the 90's are not to be found at any level of hockey in the country.Forget about the star's of the yesteryears, we do not even have the average players of the time to represent the country. Not much anyone can do about it. Coaches or Managers or the existing players.PHF needs to start from scratch and do the talent hunt schemes and propmte hockey to the point that it is played all over the country.Minor tournaments are no longer taking place and even the major tournament have disappeared from the hockey scene.Despite of all the loosing in hockey, debacles one after the other in several tournaments I still have a hope that the team may turn the tables and perform well in the London Olympics. Good Luck.

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ahmet abdulaziz

Jun 08, 2012 06:59am

I agree with you There are more than one reason that can be mentioned 1. The PHF has failed to popularise hockey at the grass root level. In a passage of times cricket has taken over the youth. 2. We do not have the strict administrators like Manzoor Hussain Atif and Noor Khan, anymore, whose devotion to the game was beyond any politics. 3. It is not just Pakistan hockey which has slumped down, indian hockey too has got the same problem, mostly because the art of classical hockey is not more to a greater extent, the new rules have made it a tough game like football or rugby. (The Asian style of dribblign and dodging is no more the best aspect of the game. The physical strength, astroturf, long shots, scoops etc are now the basic factors)

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