KARACHI: Former Pakistani captain and the Olympic gold medalist Nasir Ali commented on Pakistan National Men’s Hockey team’s tour to Europe, saying it will benefit the team in the longer run.
Nasir reacted to the national hockey team’s Europe tour in a video statement, saying the tour provides a positive environment and players can gain valuable experience from it.
“The importance of the Europe Tour lies in the good environment it offers to the players, as well as also offers the vital experience of playing in such situations,” he said.
Nasir then referred to the fullback player Rizwan, who is performing brilliantly on the Europe tour, while also claiming that he will improve more after this tour.
“Rizwan, a fullback, is having a fantastic season, scoring five goals in three games. In addition, when he returns to the game after this tour, he will show more development and confidence in his abilities “Nasir asserted.
“Similarly, other players, especially juniors, will improve a lot from this tour and I would like to congratulate Pakistan Hockey Federation for organizing this important tour,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan played two matches against the Netherlands and a single match against Belgium so far. The green shirts have managed to win just one game on the ongoing tour thus far.
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BRUSSELS: Second-ranked Belgium Hockey Team secured a comprehensive victory over the 17th-ranked Pakistan Men’s Hockey Team by 4-1 in the only match between the two teams of the Europe Tour, here on Friday.
After the conclusion of a highly-competitive series against the Netherlands, the green shirts turned their attention towards Belgium to lock horns in the only match.
The better-ranked Belgium, however, outclassed the green shirts by the scores of 5-1.
In the first half, Pakistan could not net the ball once, in response to Belgium’s two. The green shirts then managed to cut the margin to 2-1 as Rizwan struck a goal in the third quarter.
Belgium, on the other hand, restored and also extended their lead as the side responded quickly with two goals in the same quarter.
Second-ranked Belgium then netted one in the final quarter to better their lead to 5-1. The green shirts, on the other hand, could not make their way back into the game despite a goal in the starting minutes of the third quarter and suffered a crushing defeat.
For Pakistan, Rizwan managed to score the only goal.
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AMSTERDAM: The head coach of the Netherlands men’s hockey team Jeroen Delmee has rubbished the reports of the Pakistan Hockey Team playing against the local clubs on the Europe Tour.
After a voice statement circulated by a former Olympian, claiming that the Dutch and Belgian teams have refused to play against Pakistan and the green shirts are playing against the local club teams. The Dutch head coach came forward to rubbish the former’s accusations.
In a video statement for the Pakistani fans, the head coach of the Dutch hockey team Delmee confirmed that the national team has so far played two matches against Pakistan and I can confirm that they played against the national team of Holland.
“Last Tuesday and yesterday we played two games against Pakistan with the national team. On Tuesday, we lost 5-3 against a very young and energetic Pakistan side,” he said.
“But fortunately, we were able to turn things around for the Wednesday game and we were able to beat Pakistan 4-1 with our national team. So if you might have any questions, I can confirm that they played against the national team of Holland,” he added.
Delmee then wished the green shirts well at the Asia Cup and hoped to see them compete in the World Cup again.
I wish Pakistan all the best in preparing and developing for Asia Cup, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and we hope to see them back to the World Cup,” he concluded.
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AMSTERDAM: The home team the Netherlands secured a comprehensive victory over Pakistan by 4-1 in the second match of the Europe Tour, here on Wednesday.
After suffering from a shock loss in the first match against Pakistan, the third-ranked Netherlands bounced back to claim a thumping 4-1 victory over the 17th-ranked green shirts.
The green shirts were off to a flying start as the side dominated the first quarter with 1-0. The opposition was quick to respond as the dutch levelled the scores at 1-1 in the first half.
The Netherlands fueled with momentum, scored one goal in each quarter of the second half and secured a convincing victory over Pakistan 4-1.
The green shirts, on the other hand, despite starting brilliantly; scoring a goal in the first quarter, remained unable to net another goal and suffered a crushing defeat.
With this victory, the Netherlands have managed to level the three-match series 1-1, with the third and final match scheduled tomorrow.
For Pakistan, Abdul Mannan managed to shoot the only goal.
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AMSTERDAM: The 20-members squad of the Pakistan Hockey Team has landed here for their upcoming Europe tour, rolling into action from April 26.
Following their arrival here, the team will practice for three days before their first fixture of the tour against the home side Netherlands on April 26.
The head coach of the Pakistan hockey team, Siegfried Aikman, expressed his excitement on reaching with the team here for an important tour, saying it is an opportunity for us to compete with the best teams and analyse how the team grows.
“It is exciting for us to be here in Europe and to compete against the best and it will show how we grow and we can show what we want to achieve,” he said.
“So this is an amazing start for our campaign to do well at the Asia Cup and we also aim for the World Cup participation,” he added.
Aikman further revealed his plans to assess the players’ weaknesses and the urge to rectify them.
“I need to see how they develop, want to assess their weaknesses and when we go back to Lahore, we’ll work on them so that we are well prepared for the Asia Cup,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan will take on the Netherlands in two matches, and will play one against Belgium, and three against Spain amid the upcoming Europe tour.
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LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has announced the 20-men national squad for the upcoming tour to Europe.
The 20-men squad of Pakistan, led by Umar Bhutta has been announced after the approval of President PHF Khalid Sajjad Khokhar for an important prior to the Asian Games.
The side will fly to Europe with two goalkeepers Akmal and Abdullah Ishtiaq.
The green shirts will depart for the Netherlands tomorrow to play one match against the home side, scheduled on April 26. The green shirts will undergo a three-day training session before the match.
Pakistan will take on the Netherlands in two matches, and will play one against Belgium, and three against Spain.
Pakistan Squad:
Goalkeepers: Akmal, Abdullah Ishtiaq
Defenders: Mubashir Ali, Amad Shakeel Butt, Mohammad Abdullah, Arbaz Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Hammad Anjum
Forwards: Umar Bhutta (c), Ali Shan, Ghazanfar, Moin Shakeel, Abdul Mannan, Junaid Manzoor, Roman Khan, Abubakar Mahmood, Rana Waheed, Salman Raziq, Hannan Shahid, Ajaz
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LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has hired an Australian Physical Trainer – Daniel Berry for the national hockey team, here on Friday.
As per the details, Berry will reach Pakistan by the end of this month and will be available for the second phase of the national hockey team training camp.
The first phase of the training camp will conclude on February 8. The players will participate in a tournament to be held in Gujranwala.
Furthermore, the second phase of the camp will begin at the National Hockey Stadium after the conclusion of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 7.
The cricket’s marquee event will conclude on February 27.
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LAHORE: Pakistan National Men’s Hockey players have started training under the supervision of the head coach – Siegfried Aikman, here in National Hockey Stadium today.
At the training camp, Aikman, while talking to the media said that Pakistan hockey has a lot of activities this year including the Asia Cup and Commonwealth Games.
“The Asian Games are also in the same year which is the Olympic qualifiers for us. We have to prepare well for all the events as time is short,” Aikman said.
Aikman also raised a drawback in the team’s defence as the green shirts conceded 20 goals in the Asian Champions Trophy.
“20 goals were scored against us in the Asian Champions Trophy which is a lot. The first priority is the defence and the second priority is the focus on physical fitness,” Aikman added.
“We are also working on the basics of the goalkeeping,” Aikman concluded.
It is apropos to mention here that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) called 35 players for the training camp which will be concluded on February 14.
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LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) called for the performance report of the senior and junior national hockey players, here on Thursday.
PHF ordered to craft a comprehensive managers report and submit it this week, according to details. The performance report for the Pakistan Junior Hockey Team will be compiled by Head Coach Olympian Danish Kaleem, while the senior hockey team will be accumulated by Olympian Khawaja Junaid.
On the orders of President PHF Brigadier Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, Secretary-General PHF Asif Bajwa issued the letter.
It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan Junior Hockey Team participated in Junior World Hockey Cup, while the senior team participated in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.
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DHAKA: Pakistan and Japan were held to a 0-0 draw in their first match of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.
Pakistan’s first outing of the event could not conclude result as both the teams failed to score a goal.
Pakistan’s goalkeeper, Mazhar Arshad, adjudged as the Man of the match for his brilliant performance.
Recently, the goal keeper faced the visa issuance problem and joined the squad late, yesterday.
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