Champions Trophy: This is what Pakistan deserved says chief selector

Hockey chief selector lashes out at team management after another thrashing.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s misery on the hockey turf seems never-ending as a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Germany now means that the Greenshirts’ presence at the next Champions Trophy is out of their hands.

Pakistan will now contest for seventh place in the eight-team event, taking on Korea today to avoid the wooden spoon, having beaten the same opposition earlier for their only win of the event. Finishing out of the top six means that Pakistan have not qualified for the next edition but the FIH will nominate two countries to complete the numbers together with the top-five from this year.

Olympics outlook remains bleak

“Game over for us, our match against Korea is insignificant,” Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) chief selector Hanif Khan told The Express Tribune. “Seventh position is now the best we can get. All I can say is that this is what our team deserved and if they continue with the same mistakes, they’ll meet the same fate in the Olympics too.”

The PHF now needs to take strict measures, according to Khan, and launch an investigation into the team’s dismal show.

“There wasn’t any consistency and the players were lost in the field. Instead of improving with each match, they fared worse with each passing day. It’s not the time to change the coach or take other Olympians’ advice but the PHF president should take some sort of action against coach Michel van den Heuvel and the manager to ensure they improve in time for the Olympics.”

Unexpected results

This was Pakistan’s first appearance in the Champion’s Trophy after 2007 and ending the tournament as one of the weakest teams has disappointed the PHF.

“We didn’t expect this at all,” said a PHF official. “Now our chances of taking part in the next edition are very slim, especially after we made a last-minute entry into this year’s event courtesy our Asian Games’ win.”

Next year’s Champions Trophy being held in Australia, according to the FIH, will be an eight-team event once again and would include the top five from this year, the hosts and the FIH Challenge I winners Belgium. The remaining two slots, since Australia qualify as hosts and top-five finisher, will be nominated by the FIH depending on their commercial advantage to the sport, development of the game and world rankings.

Meanwhile, Australia take on Spain in the final today.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2011.