Consultant Shahnaz wants national hockey team to embrace teamwork

ISLAMABAD: Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh, the newly-appointed consultant of Pakistan’s national hockey team, on Friday said that he would try to knit the players together to make them a strong force in international competitions.

“I want our players to give up their individual game and fight on the field like a unit,” Shahnaz, who would join the national team’s camp in Lahore on Saturday, told APP.

The national camp has been arranged for the Asian Champions Trophy being held in Chennai from Aug 3-12.

“I will also try to inculcate a spirit of playing attacking hockey. I believe in aggression as this is the brand of hockey we used to play in our days, which is considered the golden era of Pakistan in the game,” the 74-year-old, who was a member of the 1971 and 1978 World Cup-winning teams, recalled.

Earlier on Friday, the PHF in a press release announced Shahnaz’s appointment as the national team consultant for a two-year period.

The decision to hire Shahnaz was taken during a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the PHF press release said.

Shahnaz said he would hold a meeting with the management of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to discuss his plan for raising a strong national side.

“I believe we need to take on board the former greats of our hockey. So in the meeting, I will be discussing with them [the PHF management] the ways of availing the expertise of our erstwhile Olympians. As former Olympians we can help improve our hockey by passing on our skills to the current players.”

According to Shahnaz, preparing coaches to train budding players and polish the skills of senior pros would be the components of his plan.

“I feel we need to prepare coaches to train players at all levels. For that well have to chalk out a proper policy,” he insisted.

According to Shahnaz, his initial focus would be to enable the team to put up a good show at the Asian Champions Trophy.

“This event is crucial for us as in September-October we will be playing at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.”

The Sept 23-Oct 8 Games serve as Olympic qualifiers. A top podium finish will mean a direct entry to the quadrennial spectacle.

Shahnaz believes though currently Pakistan are a lower-ranked side at the international level, they can still qualify for the Olympics.

“I am an optimist. Hockey is in our blood. I am sure we can once again become a formidable side. I have a plan for that,” he added.

Meanwhile, the PHF expressed the hope that Shahnaz would help improve the performance of the national team.