Aiming high: Full of confidence, Greenshirts begin Champions Trophy campaign

Players unperturbed despite being placed in a tough group

KARACHI: The captain of the Pakistan national hockey team, Muhammad Imran, believes that the squad is well-prepared to take on world number four Belgium in their first league match of the Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India on Saturday.

“The squad had trained under quality coaches and it showed when we won the practice match against Argentina,” told Imran to The Express Tribune. “The whole team played as one against the Argentines and implemented the training given by the coaches to defeat the seventh-ranked team in the world.”

Apart from their opening day opponents Belgium, Pakistan, who won a silver medal at the Asian Games and are now ranked 11^th, are placed in pool A along with fifth-ranked England — who they will face in their second league match on December 7 and Australia — who they face on December 9 after a day’s rest.

For the last 20 years, the Australians and the Europeans have had a stronghold on the tournament, with the Aussies coming into the tournament having won the previous five editions, but Imran feels his team is up for the challenge and are ready to cause an upset.

“We are ready to face the top teams; we have only one thing in mind, to clinch the title and show the world what we are capable of,” said Imran. “The third Champions Trophy title will be the perfect way for Pakistan hockey to round off a memorable 2014, but for that we will have to beat the best.”

Head coach Shahnaz Sheikh is also optimistic about the tournament but feels that reaching the semi-finals will be a more realistic aim to begin with. “The team played well at the Asiads, and if they continue playing in the same manner as they played in the practice match against Argentina, they have a strong chance of reaching the final four in the championship," said Sheikh. “The morale of the team is good because we clearly know there are distractions in every process. But at this moment we only want to look forward."

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Imran Butt, who has added responsibility in the new penalty shuffle, says that he will not repeat the mistakes he made at Asian Games when India in the final on the shuffle. “I have practiced a lot to overcome the mistakes I made at Incheon and I have improved my focus,” he said.

 

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