Asian Games hockey camp gets underway

ISLAMABAD As many as 23 hockey players reported in the preparatory training camp for Asian Games which commenced here at Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium, Pakistan Sports Complex, on Tuesday. The team members reported to assistant coach Ahmed Alam since head coach Michel Lan Dan was not present. The Asian Games will be held from November 12 to 27 at Guangzhou, China. Salman Akbar and Wasim Ahmed could not join the camp. The greenshirts will take on Hong Kong in their opening fixture of 10-nation event on November 17 as Pakistan are bracketed in Pool B with traditional rivals India, Japan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong. Skipper Zeeshan Ashraf said that they would not repeat the mistakes they committed in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. We will give good news to the nation on Eid. The team will deliver in the Asian Games, he added. Fullback Zeeshan further added that team was week in defence and finishing was also poor during the Commonwealth Games. We are focusing on these areas. Now, penalty corner specialist, Sohail Abbas will be also part of the national squad and we will produce remarkable results in the event, he maintained. Boys are eager to do well. We performed well in the whole tournament expect match against India. There are no language hurdles in the communication with foreign coach. He should be given at least two years to prepare good side for international competitions, he further said. Meanwhile, Shoail Abbas told this scribe that he was fully fit for the Asian Games. I am going to resume my hockey from where I had left. I am available for Pakistan any time. This will be honour for me to represent my country in the mega Asian event, he said. Pakistan team: Mohammad Irfan, Zeeshan Ashraf, Waqas Akbar, Mohammad Rizwan Junior, Fareed Ahmed, Mohammad Zubair, Shakeel Abbasi, Mohammad Imran, Abdul Qayyum, Mohammad Arshad, Umer Bhutta, Kashif Shah, Kashif Javed, Rehan Butt, Sohail Abbas, Shafaqt Rasool, M. Waqas, Mohammad Toseeq, Khalid Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan Senior, Abdul Haseem Khan, Imran Shah and Imran Butt.