KARACHI: Pakistan captain Mohammad Imran said on Tuesday that winning silver medal in the recently-concluded Champions Trophy held in Bhubaneswar, India, was a great achievement for Pakistan.

“It was a great comeback by the team after dismal start in league rounds,” said the full-back on his return from neighbouring India while stating that the Champions Trophy was considered the toughest global event of the hockey world and securing second position was a huge achievement amid the gloomy hockey scenario.

Imran said the team management gave confidence to the players who, he said, made a comeback with a bang in the quarter-final.

Acceding to the fact that quarter-final format greatly benefitted the team, the skipper said: “Definitely, the team took full advantage of the format introduced in 2012 due to which our team played great hockey during the knockout rounds.”

He further said the whole team as well as the management deserved credit for reaching the final of a major event for the first time in 16 years which, he said, was also morale boosting.

After back-to-back defeats, the chief coach had a session with his players including five youngsters besides working with them to improve their tactics, claimed the captain.

“The experience gained by boys in league rounds proved vital for it helped in scoring wins against the Netherlands and India,” recalled the skipper who also said that the strategy of giving free hand to players to play their natural game bore fruits.

“This strategy worked out well besides our new penalty-corner drills that helped in our win against the Netherland,” said the captain, adding that despite hostile crowd, the team played spiritedly to down India in the last-four stage.

Imran also expressed hope that after their good performance in the Champions Trophy the team will be rewarded by the government.

He, however, said all-out efforts will be required to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics about which many emerging players including forward Mohammad Arslan dream to not only feature in but also perform well.

“My dream is to be part of the medal-winning Pakistan team in 2016,” said forward Arslan on his return from India.

The 21-year-old Arslan belonging to Dera Ghazi Khan slammed a brace in Pakistan’s exciting 4-3 victory against India to grab player of the match award.

“My motivation level was very high during the Champions Trophy matches which helped me play from the core of my heart against India,” said the beaming forward, adding that he, however, was disappointed that they could not win the title after coming so close. Pakistan lost 2-0 to Germany in the final.

Arslan who joined the national hockey team in 2009 was happy that he contributed to the success of the team and said that he was looking forward to achieving more for the country in the coming years.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2014