‘Absent players will not get contracts’

Hockey officials sound strong warning in camp.

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has reacted strongly to players’ absence from the training camp set up for the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, saying that the absentees will not be awarded the central contracts.

Pakistan captain Zeeshan Ashraf, Sohail Abbas and Mohammad Wasim have conveyed their unavailability for the camp, underway in Islamabad. While Ashraf said that he wanted to “skip the tournament to give young players a chance, Abbas and Wasim were busy with personal commitments.

However, the PHF has made it clear that central contracts will only be awarded to players who are available to represent the country when needed.

“How can a player be given a contract when he’s not available to represent the country?” a PHF official told The Express Tribune. “Apart from the performance we’re also considering including only players who are willing to play at all levels.”

Meanwhile, the PHF also confirmed that Abbas and Wasim will join the squad in a couple of days.

‘Revenge for cricket loss’

Meanwhile, archrivals India and Pakistan will meet again, this time on the hockey field on May 11 for the Azlan Shah Cup clash.

While the build-up is incomparable to the semi-final of the cricket World Cup but Pakistan manager Khwaja Junaid has vowed to avenge the loss when they beat India on the hockey field.

“I agree that cricket is the most popular game,” said Junaid. “But I assure the nation that we’ll have a great contest against India and defeat them to avenge our cricket loss.”

Pakistan, four-time world champions and 2010 Asian Games winners, have retained their Dutch coach Michel Van Dan Heuvel.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd,  2011.