Ibrahim appointed as hockey head coach

First task will be to prepare side for 2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), led by president Brig (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and secretary Shahbaz Senior, appointed Olympian Qamar Ibrahim as the new head coach of the national side on Sunday.

Shahbaz revealed that Ibrahim was selected to train the team for next year’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. The camp for the Azlan Shah Cup will take place after the South Asian Games (SAG) scheduled to be held from February 4 to February 16, 2016.

Along with Ibrahim, Olympian Abdul Hanif Khan has been selected as the team manager, while Dr Yousuf Baig and Irfan Sheikh have been selected as team doctor and physical trainer respectively.



“We have selected Ibrahim to prepare the senior team for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup,” Shahbaz told The Express Tribune. “The entire team management has been finalised and the next step would be to select the squad.”

Ibrahim is currently serving as the tournament manager of the National Hockey Championship and Shahbaz believes that Ibrahim’s involvement in the national championship would be beneficial in picking the best players.

“The selectors and coaches are present at the ongoing championship and will consider players performance from here, which will result in the selection of the best squad,” added Shahbaz.

Earlier, the PHF had announced that former captain Muhammad Saqlain would serve as head coach for Pakistan Whites — Pakistan hockey’s A team — at SAG, and Shahbaz revealed that the players travelling to India as part of Pakistan Whites would also be selected from the ongoing national championship.

“Pakistan Whites will have players who have not participated in international events which will increase their exposure and give us more players to select the team from,” he added. “Players participating in the national championship will be given preference in the team selection.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2015.

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