I reviewed the team’s performance during the World Cup and will coach the team keeping that in mind: Pakistan coach. -Photo by AFP
ISLAMABAD: Newly appointed Pakistan hockey team coach Khawaja Junaid insists that his charges will not let disappoint in the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, to be played in Ipoh (Malaysia) from May 6-16.Talking to APP on Tuesday, he said that discipline in the team would be his first priority as he believed that was what the team needed the most.
“I will try my best to prepare a team that enters the field like a well-knit unit and plays to its full potential,” he said.
The training camp for Azlan Shah Cup starts from Thursday and Khawaja says he will be focussing on removing shortcomings in the team, both in the defence and the attack. “I reviewed the team’s performance during the World Cup and will coach the team keeping that in mind,” he said.
He said in the training camp players from Pakistan Whites and Junior team had also been called adding that 50 per cent players, called for the camp had an average age of 23 years. “Our effort will be made to select players who can play for the country for a long time,” he added.
He however, said that expectations should not be made from the team for a major rebound on the international circuit as it would take some time. “We should not hope for a miracle from our team as it will take some time to overcome the weaknesses,” he said.
Khawaja, who was junior hockey team coach prior to the new assignment said, he had accepted his new responsibility as a challenge and would like to put the national team back on the right track.
To a question he said that one of the reasons of team’s defeat in the World Cup was that it lacked consistency. “On the one hand our team defeated Spain, which is a strong outfit. It also gave tough time to Word Champions Australia in their pool match. But on the other, it conceded easy defeats to weaker sides like South Africa. All this shows is that our boys were not less talented rather they were inconsistent in their performance,” he remarked.
To another question he said that adjusting to Austro turf was a big challenge for boys who have played majority of their hockey on grass and sometimes even on cement. “Playing on an Austro turf is a sudden change for a player who has played eight to ten years on an ordinary ground. He finds it hard to adjust.”
Khawaja said that there were only ten Austro turfs in the country, while in Holland there were around five thousand and in Australia three thousand. “Look at the difference. We have to provide Austro turfs to our boys if we are to compete with the world,” he said. He however, informed that the number of Austro turfs would be increased up to twenty by next year.
The coach said that there was also a need to increase the number of hockey academies in the country. “At present we have 18 academies, while these should be at least eighty. Besides, there is a need to give incentives to players,” he added. —APP
Source: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/sport/team-to-fare-better-than-average%2C-says-junaid-140
0 comments:
Post a Comment