‘Aim is to be in the top five handball teams’

Pakistan coach Naseer Ahmed targets 2016 to improve on ranking

KARACHI: Naseer Ahmed, the head coach of Pakistan men’s handball team, is aiming to lift the country among the top five sides in the world by 2016 after the successful implementation of the European style technique, which was first used last year. 

According to Ahmed, the technique of keeping 90% fitness and 10% gameplay during training has started delivering results. “The method was first implemented in 2014 before the Asian Beach Games in Phuket, Thailand where the team secured third position,” Ahmed told The Express Tribune, adding that since then, they had improved further in the more recent events.

Pakistan finished on fourth at the Asian Beach Championship last month in Qatar, and although the ranking fails to show proof of their form, they had the same number of points as the teams on second and third but fell behind on goal difference.

The coach informed that the Pakistan Handball Federation (PHF) will be selecting a pool of players from the upcoming National Men’s Handball Championship, scheduled to take place from June 15-16 at the Sand Court of the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad.

“The PHF has allowed U23 players to participate in order to pick new players and train them with the new method which will not only improve their skills but also give us backup players, which we are currently lacking,” said Ahmed.

The coach says he is now expecting a first-place finish from his team at the 2016 Asian Beach Games and then a place in the top five at the 2016 Beach Handball World Championships. “We have to build up our backup for the 2016 mega events and improve our fitness levels to meet our targets.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2015.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.