‘Champions Trophy would’ve given players much-needed exposure’

Terming Pakistan Hockey Federation’s decision to skip this year’s Champions Trophy as utterly negative, retired Col Mudassar Asghar insists no country looking to raise a strong team can afford to miss such a high-profile international contest.

London is scheduled to host the 2016 Champions Trophy, featuring six nations, from June 10 to 17.

“It is very unfortunate that the PHF [by deciding to skip the Champions Trophy] has deprived our players of one of the toughest events, which could help them gain useful experience of top-level hockey. The decision has been taken out of fear of defeat, and this is very surprising,” Mudassar said while talking to Dawn here on Monday.

In an amazing move recently, the PHF decided not to participate in the Champions Trophy, arguing it wants to focus on qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

Mudassar however did not agree to the logic behind the PHF move.

“Look, you can hone your skills only by featuring in high-profile international contests such as the Champions Trophy, Olympics and World Cup. Whereas the PHF has opted for a relatively lower-level event like the Azlan Shah Cup [to be staged in Ipoh in April], while skipping a top-class competition like the Champions Trophy,” Mudassar regretted.

“No hockey fan in Pakistan can feel satisfied by this negative decision, which has been taken at a stage when our national team needs to participate in more such events to shape up for the on-field challenges ahead,” he insisted.

“One can’t understand why the present PHF regime, which will have completed approximately one year when the Champions Trophy is held in June, has not been able to prepare a strong squad for such a major tournament,” Mudassar emphasised.

“Furthermore, the PHF should also clarify whether the decision [to avoid the Champions Trophy] was made individually by secretary Shahbaz Senior or president Khalid Sajjad Khokhar.”

After having failed to qualify for mega contests like the 2014 World Cup and Rio Olympics, Mudassar underlined, participation in the 2016 Champions Trophy would have been a good chance to provide the players with much needed exposure but was wasted by the PHF.

At the 1986 World Cup, he recalled, Pakistan finished a miserable 11th in the 12-team contest. However, they made a noteworthy turnaround in the 1988 Champions Trophy and reached the final.

Similarly, Mudassar added, a gloomy picture emerged before the 1994 World Cup but Pakistan team regathered themselves and played magnificent hockey to regain the world title. “All this shows that no country can afford to miss such high-profile international events, particularly when it is seeking to raise a strong team.”

Furthermore, Mudassar noted, the status of the Champions Trophy was special for Pakistan as the PHF under the dynamic leadership of late Air Marshal Nur Khan introduced the prestigious event.

Meanwhile, when the question regarding the Champions Trophy was forwarded to newly appointed head coach Khawaja Junaid, he backed the PHF decision.

“It is a right decision as we want to concentrate to qualify for the 2018 World Cup,” Junaid said on the first day of the national training camp set up at the National Hockey Stadium for the Azlan Shah Cup.

“Instead we will prefer to play Test matches against Australia and the European teams to prepare ourselves for the 2018 World Cup qualifying round,” the head coach added.

When reminded that the European and Australian teams might not prefer to play Pakistan in Test series because of its current poor standing in world hockey while the Champions Trophy offered Pakistan an automatic opportunity to face top teams, Junaid insisted on playing the Test series.

Meanwhile, when asked seniors like captain Mohammad Imran, Waqas Sharif and several others had not been called up for the camp, Junaid said if needed the PHF would also call them.

Probables attending the camp for Azlan Shah Cup:

Goalkeepers: Imran Butt, Amjad Ali, Mazhar Abbas.

Full-backs: Syed Kashif Shah, Mohammad Aleem Bilal, Asad Aziz, Mohammad Irfan, Nawaz Ishfaq.

Halves: M. Rizwan Junior, Mohammad Toseeq, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mahmood, Tasawar Abbas, Faisal Qadir, Ali Hussain, Saleem Nazim, Kashif Javed, Ammad Butt.

Forwards: Mohammad Umar Bhutta, M. Irfan Junior, Arslan Qadir, Ali Shan, Rizwan Senior, Ijaz Ahmed, Rizwan Ali, Abdul Haseem Khan, Karim Khan, Awais-ur-Rehman, Fiaz Yaqoob, Jamil Bostan, Hamidullah Khan, Awais Khan, Taimoor Malik.