Pakistan hockey team to return today

KARACHI: The Pakistan hockey team is returning home from the Europe tour today after a satisfactory result in their two-week long sojourn.

Pakistan, on their first assignment since Dutch coach Michel Van Den Heuvel’s appointment, played six matches on the tour.

While the green shirts drew all their three matches against Spain, they won the lone match against France before drawing the two-match series against Holland as well.

Captain Zeeshan Ashraf, who was recalled after the team’s failure in the World Cup in New Delhi where Pakistan finished last, finished an impressive tour along with the experienced Rehan Butt and Muhammad Tauseeq.

“The team showed improvement under the new coach,” the Pakistan Hockey Federation director operations Rana Mujahid told The Express Tribune.

“Heuvel has brought some positive changes, hopefully we will see positive results in the future as well.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd, 2010.