KUALA LUMPUR – The mystery is finally solved as Pakistan’s participation in this year’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is confirmed, with the tournament scheduled to take place in Ipoh from May 4 to 11.
Under the tutelage of head coach Roelant Oltmans and with a team with an average age of 24, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has set a target for the squad to become champions of the invitational men’s hockey tournament.
The tournament will see a total of six teams participating: Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea, and defending champions Malaysia.
Speaking to Scoop from Lahore, PHF secretary-general Muhammad Asif Bajwa said that 25 to 30 players have been selected for the tournament.
They will commence their training tomorrow in Islamabad.
“We will be participating in the tournament as promised to the organisers a few months ago. The team is already assembled, and the players will begin their training tomorrow until we depart for Kuala Lumpur on April 27.
“Most players are young. They are the same players who participated in FIH Men’s Junior World Cup in December last year, as coach Roelant knows how to get the best out of them.
“We have been having some internal issues within our federation over the past few months. However, that’s not going to distract us from participating in a prestigious tournament like the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
“This tournament is also going to be the perfect preparation for our participation in the Nations Cup in Poland in May and the FIH Pro League – which we are planning to make a reappearance for this year,” said Asif when contacted.
Pakistan were suspended in 2019 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) as they could not play their first three games due to commitment issues.
At the same time, Asif also believes that hockey in the country will be back to its glorious days under the leadership of Roelant.
“We should not let the sport decay in our country due to the ongoing issues, as we have a rich history in this game and in all tournaments that we played.
“Our target is to win the tournament. We believe we can do it under Roelant’s leadership as he’s an experienced coach based on how he transformed the young Pakistani players over the years since he took over.
“We may arrive late for the tournament but we have the experience with us. We will definitely give all the teams a good fight without surrendering ourselves,” Asif added.
Previously Scoop reported that Pakistan’s participation in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was uncertain due to the power struggles within the PHF which is believed to have two associations within its supervision.
Pakistan, known as the “Flying Greenhorses” by their fans, have made 15 appearances in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and have won the tournament thrice (1999, 2000, and 2003) since its inception in 1983.
Arriving late for tournaments hosted by Malaysia is not something new for Pakistan, as their junior team arrived for the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup in Bukit Jalil last year only a day before the tournament kicked off.
The tournament saw head coach Roelant charges losing in the quarterfinals against Spain.
Pakistan’s senior team currently rank 15th in the world with 1775.78 points. – April 16, 2024