Hockey squad for Youth Olympics announced

LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has announced a 16-man squad for the First Youth Olympics to be held in Singapore that start from August 14. The selectors have retained almost the same squad which was selected for the cancelled Europe tour, except for Mohammad Shahriyar and Shujat Ali who have been excluded.

Pakistan’s junior team will open their campaign against Guyana on August 17, after which they will compete against Singapore on August 20. On August 21 and 22, Pakistan will take on Australia and Belgium respectively before the classification matches, which start from August 24.

“Along with other fields of play, the team’s defence is good, and hence we hope that the youngsters will meet our expectations,” chief selector Hanif Khan told the media after the one-day trials at the National Hockey Stadium. “After observing the trials, I think we have talented boys who have the potential to beat any team in the world and lift the title.”

Marking the talent

Junior team coach Khwaja Junaid has said that the tournament will serve as a “talent marking” opportunity.

“We have been working on youth development and also beat Malaysia last year to find a place in the Olympics Games,” Junaid told The Express Tribune. “We have Rizwan, Kashif and Umair as our future prospects. And this event will mark the talent in the country.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2010.