Olympian Shakeel Abbasi asked to rejoin training camp

LAHORE: Pakistan hockey team coach Akhtar Rasool has asked Olympian Shakeel Abbasi, who had been asked to leave the camp for fasting during training, to rejoin the Asia Cup training camp.

Rasool had previously expelled Shakeel Abbasi from the training camp after he had come to training while fasting.

Abbasi said that whether players chose to fast during the training camp was a personal choice, Express News reported.

Rasool had stated that all team players had been asked not to fast during the training camp since fasting did not allow players to perform to their full capacity during training and had to face difficulty.

Rasool also faced criticism for his decision to remove Abbasi from the training camp over what was a religious issue.

Pakistan will participate in and must win the upcoming Asia Cup in Malaysia in order to qualify for the World Cup.