KARACHI: Pakistan hockey team head coach and Olympian Manzoor-ul-Hasan has said that the Green Shirts’ preparations for the FIH Pro League are nearing completion, as the national team is set to leave the country on June 10 to participate in the event in Belgium and England.
Speaking to The News on Monday, the head coach said that the players’ preparations have been carried out with the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup in mind, for which Pakistan has already qualified.
Manzoor-ul-Hasan was widely regarded as one of the greatest full-backs in the history of field hockey during his playing career. It is pertinent to mention that this will be the third leg of Pakistan’s FIH Pro League campaign. In the previous two legs, Pakistan played eight matches and lost all of them.
Manzoor-ul-Hasan said that the team management and players worked hard during the training camp to rectify and address the grey areas, weaknesses, and mistakes observed in previous matches.
However, he pointed out that Pakistan had not been competing regularly against the world’s top hockey nations for a long period. As a result, a considerable gap emerged in terms of exposure to modern, high-standard hockey, which contributed to the team’s struggles in earlier matches.
Despite the setbacks, he said the players learned a great deal from participating in the FIH Pro League and gained confidence after qualifying for the 2027 Hockey World Cup. He said that improvement and progress do not come overnight in any sport. They require extensive hard work, practice, and regular competition against strong opponents to bring about positive change in a team, and that is exactly what Pakistan hockey is currently striving to achieve.
He said that the team suffered two major setbacks during the training camp, as key striker Hannan Shahid and penalty-corner specialist Sufiyan Khan sustained injuries and have been ruled out for the remainder of the tour.
“The injuries to these two players are a significant blow for us. They are not travelling with the team, and we have decided to preserve them for future assignments, particularly with our preparations for the Hockey World Cup next year in mind,” he said.
He added that both players were valuable assets to the national side and proven goal-scorers, with one excelling in field goals and the other being a specialist in penalty corners. Manzoor-ul-Hasan said that Pakistan believes in attacking hockey and will continue to play an aggressive brand of the game against all opponents, regardless of their strength or ranking
He further said that Pakistan will also face arch-rivals India during the event, which promises to be a highly anticipated encounter. “India is a strong team in world hockey and currently enjoys a better position than us in the FIH rankings. However, we are also improving gradually and moving in the right direction,” he said.
He added that Pakistan would adopt a separate strategy and game plan against India, different from the approach used against European, Australian, South American, and other teams. “Both teams belong to Asia and are well aware of each other’s tactics and strategies,” he added.
Manzoor-ul-Hasan expressed confidence that Pakistan would surprise India in the competition. He said that the team management has worked extensively on improving the goalkeeping and defensive departments, which were considered comparatively weaker than the midfield, forward line, and penalty-corner drag-flicking units. He said that the players are motivated and confident about showcasing their abilities more effectively than in previous matches.
