LAHORE: Pakistan Under-21 hockey team left for the tour of Spain and Netherlands here Monday in their second leg of the European tour. “In Spain, Pakistan face hosts’ national junior side in a three test series,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Hockey Federation said. While in Netherlands, they will play matches against some of the top teams from the Hoofdklasse (Netherlands Premier Division). The Netherlands’ league is the most competitive domestic hockey competition in the world with top sides fielding international stars from different countries. The European tour is a part of preparation for the Junior World Cup to be held in Lucknow, India later this year. Three players – Samiuallah, Fahadullah and Mohsin Sabir will join the national team in a few days after completing their engagements with their respective teams in the ongoing inter services tournament.
Players: Muhammad Dilber, Azfar Yaqoob, Muhammad Atiq, Bilal Qadir, Ali Raza, Atif Mushtaq, Abu Bakar Mahmood, Ammad Shakeel Butt, Junaid Kamal, Shan Irshad, Rana Suhail Riaz, Talal Khalid, Hassan Anwar, Faizan, Mubashar Ali and Muhammad Usman.
Team officials: Khalid Mukhtar Farani (team manager), Tahir Zaman (head coach) Zeeshan Ashraf (coach), Muhammad Irfan (assistant coach), Zahid Ali (video analyst) and Ghazanfar Ali (nutritionist).