Senior players to miss Quad-i-Azam tournament

KARACHI: The national hockey team members including captain Zeeshan Ashraf, Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbassi,  Waseem Ahmed and  goal-keeper Imran Shah  will not take part in the Quaid-i-Azam Gold hockey tournament after being advised to rest by coach Michel van den Heuvel. The six-day tournament that starts on July 28 at the Hockey Club in Karachi, will feature seven departmental and four provincial teams along with the visiting Ghana squad.

“Coach van den Heuvel has strictly advised us to rest after the European tour,” centre-forward Rehan Butt told The Express Tribune. “We are to follow the instructions, each player has his own training plan to follow during are rest at home. But we have been told not to play during this time.”

Rehan, who plays for Wapda, said that the players needed the rest after the lengthy European tour where Pakistan played five matches followed by a four-day training camp. He added that the players were skipping the tournament after obtaining permission by their respective departments.

Abbasi, echoing the same view, said players would not want to exhaust themselves before they prepare for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and the Asian Games in China.

Meanwhile, according to the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), van den Heuvel will come to Pakistan in the first week of next month for the initial phase of the two-week training camp that will be held at Abbotabad from August 12. The players will then have practice sessions in Netherlands from September 1 before they take part in the Commonwealth Games.

PHF to sign long-term deal with DSC

Meanwhile, the PHF has decided to sign a long-term agreement with the Dubai Sports City (DSC) to make the UAE a venue for organising its home series and hockey league.

“A concrete plan will be disclosed in next three to four weeks,” PHF General Secretary Asif Bajwa told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2010.