Daily Times

LAHORE: Following the national team’s disastrous performance in the World Hockey League, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has appointed new management for the senior hockey team with immediate effect. The decision was taken by PHF president Brig (r) Muhammad Khalid Sajjad Khokhar on Thursday, with head coach Khawaja Junaid Ahmad being replaced by Farhat Hassan Khan and team manager Muhammad Rafiq replaced by Muhammad Shafqat. In the changes which will stay in effect till 2018, assistant coach Muhammad Sarwar has kept his place. Sajjad has also appointed a new selection committee which will be headed by former Olympian Hassan Sardar, and will also include Ayaz Mehmood and Syed Mussadiq Hussain. The new committee has replaced Abdul Rasheed Junior, Farhat Hassan Khan, Waseem Feroz and Qasim Khan.

Pakistan finished poor seventh in the World Hockey League, where their only victory came against Scotland. Even after such a horrid show, the four-time World champions managed to qualify for next year’s World Cup. The management which faced the axe was appointed after the team’s poor performance in the Champions Trophy last year. This game of musical chairs won’t bring any positive change in Pakistan hockey. Affairs of the Pakistan hockey are in shambles. The PHF does not seem serious in coming up to best international standards. Change for the sake of change has been a tested formula in Pakistan on several occasions. The real task ahead of the PHF patron, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, is to pick the right people with sincere intentions, putting aside all kinds of lobbies and nepotism.

Meanwhile, newly appointed head coach Farhat Khan is optimistic that the national team’s performance could be improved through introducing positive and aggressive mindset among players. “In past, Pakistan was the power house of hockey and I still do believe that we can achieve the best results,” he said. Farhat, a member of the now dissolved selection committee, was also a critic of his predecessor Khawaja Junaid’s policies. Farhat said he did not believe in setting long term goals, instead, his focus would be to start winning from the beginning or the first match. “I don’t like defeat, we had a glorious past in hockey and I witnessed a great era, I do believe in winning every match and I am hopeful that by adopting a policy of aggressive game, we can produce good results,” he added. He showed full confidence in the new selection committee and said: “Hasan Sardar and Mussadiq Hussain were better hockey players than me and I keep a firm belief that whatever team they select, it will be in the interest of Pakistan hockey.”

Published in Daily Times, July 21^st, 2017.