Abu Dhabi: The dark clouds of financial uncertainty still hover over hockey in Pakistan and it will take time for the sport to recover, skipper Mohammad Imran has said.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation managed to send the team to a four-nation tournament in Hobart, Australia, but the players are still waiting for allowances amounting to 150,000 Pakistan rupees (Dh5,413) per player to be cleared.
“If there is a crisis, be it in any country, then it does affect everyone. However, our prime duty is to serve our nation. Hopefully, the government and the federation will sort out things,” Imran told Gulf News during the team’s stopover in Dubai on their way back to Lahore.
“We understand that the federation needs funds and so we will support them. Our job is to play hockey and we will continue to do that, whatever the situation be but yes, funds are a must,” he added.
“Team morale is still high. We did well in the Champions Trophy in December and before that in the Asian Games, we made the finals. There are a lot of pluses to take away from the tournament and having looked at that, I feel we will play well in the World League and we will try our best to qualify for the Olympics,” Imran said.
The team will enjoy a two-day break here before heading to South Korea for a four-match series ahead of World League games taking place in Antwerp, Belgium, from June 20 until July 5. The Green shirts need to finish in the top three of the 10-team tournament in order to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
“I can’t say anything [until] the time we leave for the Korea tour, but yes, as of now, from the federation, we have got the confirmation that we are leaving. When we reach home, we will get a clear picture whether we are leaving or not. Hopefully, everything goes as per plans,” revealed Imran, whose team’s performance in the last tournament Down Under was nothing spectacular.
The Kookaburras thrashed them 6-0 in the opener and 5-0 in their last match. The Australia ‘A’ team was also equally brutal as they won 3-1.
Pakistan thrashed Korea 4-1 but in their second outing, rallying from behind after having squandered an early lead to win 5-4. However, they lost 4-2 to the New Zealand Black Sticks.
Coach Shahnaz Shaikh said: “We managed to give all the new players a run-in and that was important. It was the first time a few of them were playing at a big stage and that showed. However, I’m happy with the showing and we will be trying out a few more players in Korea. We need to improve on our missing ratio, fitness level and... a bad ball-watching habit [which causes them to] miss out on zone marking.”
“Aussies are way ahead of the rest and there is no match. Earlier, they used to do 20 to 25 penetrations in a match and now it is 40. The intensity of the attack is tremendous and I’m telling you, we are thinking of qualifying for Rio and they are already in the winning mood for the Olympics.”
