Four-Nation hockey tournament: National team departs for Australia

Full payment of last month’s daily allowance to be made upon return

KARACHI: Pakistan’s national hockey team left for Australia from Karachi in the wee hours of Wednesday to take part in the Four-Nation series with only 50% of their daily allowance for the last month.

A cheque for the remaining amount has been handed over to head coach Shahnaz Sheikh by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF).

“The cheque will be cleared on our return from Australia,” Sheikh told reporters at a press conference before the team’s departure, adding that the player and officials are determined to give their best despite the financial crisis.

The head coach said that the current hockey team is facing the same financial crunch that affected the players in 1960 when they hardly had any money to buy the basic necessities of life, but their supreme performance earned them timeless glory.

“This team has performed well in the past two tournaments [Champions Trophy and Asian Games],” said Sheikh. “And they are ready to repeat that performance and will surely be rewarded for their hard work and dedication.”

Sheikh also asked the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination to clear the outstanding dues of the team in order to lessen the mental pressure on the players, adding that the PHF has signed a four-year contract with Malik Sports, who will be providing two kits for matches and two for practice sessions till 2018.

Meanwhile, captain Muhammad Imran said that he will urge the players to continue the hard work they have done during the training camp in order to prepare for the World Hockey League in June, which will serve as qualifiers for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th,  2015.

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