ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Monday shortlisted 20 players for the Under-18 Asia Cup following the completion of the first phase of trials at the Bunda Ground.
The continental event is scheduled to be held in Kakamegahara, Japan later this month, where Pakistan will be aiming to make a strong impression with a talented young squad. Besides the 20 shortlisted players, the PHF selection committee also named eight standby players who will remain under consideration until the final squad announcement.
The shortlisted players include goalkeepers Ghulam Mustafa and Noman; defenders Essam Haider (captain), Hassan Akbar (vice-captain) and Uzair Ahmed; midfielders Muhammad Asnan, Muhammad Zaman Gujjar, Usman Ghani, Muzammil Saeed, Shahidullah and Waqas Naeem; while the forwards are Abdullah Awan, Zunair, Rana Abdul Sami, Salman Yasin, Adeel Afzal, Farhan Aslam, Yahya Najeeb, Muhammad Usman and Shoaib Sultan.
The standby list comprises Hamza Khalid (goalkeeper), Noman Hanif, Haneen Noor, Usman Baig, Usman Asghar, Muhammad Zain, Arsalan Siddique and Taimur Shiraz. According to the PHF selection committee, the shortlisted players are being closely monitored and assessed before the announcement of the final 18-member squad on May 21. The selected team will represent Pakistan in the Under-18 Asia Cup campaign.
The trials were supervised by Chairman Selection Committee Olympian Samiullah Khan, along with Olympians Nasir Ali, Naeem Akhtar, Kashif Jawad and Dr Atif Bashir. Head Coach U-18 Olympian Qamar Ibrahim and coach Olympian Rehan Butt also remained actively involved throughout the selection process.
