KUALA LUMPUR – Pakistan view the Saari brothers, Faizal and Fitri Saari, as their biggest threat to overcome in the quest for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup title.
Under the tutelage of head coach Roelant Oltmans and boasting a team with an average age of 24, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has set a target for the squad to become the champions of the invitational men’s hockey tournament.
The tournament, scheduled to kick off in Ipoh from May 4 to 11, 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 the Speedy Tigers would be the toughest team to beat, particularly as they are playing in front of their home fans.
“Though we are going to challenge ourselves to win the tournament, our biggest challenge will be Malaysia, as it won’t be easy to play against them.
“Malaysia may not be in their prime, but they are a force we should not underestimate as they are still one of the top teams in Asia and the world.
“Moreover, we have been closely monitoring the Saari brothers over the past few months. We know the kind of damage they can cause to our team if we give them too much space in our defence.
“These are the main obstacles we have to overcome to win the tournament. I know that Malaysia, under the tutelage of Sarjit Singh, will form a really strong team to defend the title they won two years ago,” said Asif when contacted.
The Saari brothers are making waves in the Bangladesh Hockey League with Mohammedan SC.
Striker Faizal leads the club’s scoring chart with 13 goals, while midfielder Fitri, who joined Mohammedan on March 27, has scored five times in seven matches.
The club, currently at the top of the league standings, also has two additional Speedy Tigers players in the team – Faiz Helmi Jali and Zulpidaus Mizun.
At the same time, Asif told Scoop that South Korea could also put on a strong performance to stop his side from clinching the title.
The 55-year-old, a bronze medalist in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, cited the recent progress of the Koreans at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, where they won a bronze medal by defeating China 2-1.
Pakistan, known as the “Flying Greenhorses” by their fans, has made a total of 15 appearances in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and have won the tournament thrice (1999, 2000, and 2003) since its inception in 1983.
Pakistan currently rank 15th in the world with 1,775.78 points. – April 16, 2024