The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) chief selector Hanif Khan and coach Rana Mujahid believe that, with experience and international exposure, the junior team has the capacity to take on the toughest of opponents.
The PHF announced the 18-man squad for the Egypt series yesterday with Khan insisting on the right amount of grooming even if it resulted in early losses for the team.
“The boys have the potential but all they need is exposure and the Egypt series is part of that initiative taken by the PHF,” said Khan.
Coach Mujahid pointed out that the semi-final defeat in the Asian Cup in Singapore was a learning experience for the juniors and the forthcoming series would provide them the experience they needed.
“We need to move on after the Singapore loss and prepare for the series ahead,” said Mujahid.
Meanwhile, Pakistan junior captain Mohammad Umar Bhutta believed that the Singapore tournament did not give them time to experiment with the conditions in Egypt allowing them enough time to develop different combinations.
Pakistan squad
Mazhar Abbas, Muhammad Khalid, Aleem Bilal, Muhammad Mushtaq, Waseem Abbas, Kashif Javed, Muhammad Rizwan, Tasawwar Abbas, Muhammad Suleman, Zohaib Ashraf, Irfan, Umar Bhutta, Arslan Qadir, Ali Shan, Muhammad Adnan Anwar, Rana Umair, M Dilber, Ahmed Zubair.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2011.
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