KARACHI: Pakistan’s hockey players will assemble in Islamabad on Wednesday (tomorrow) to prepare for this year’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup which tees off in the Malaysian city of Ipoh on May 24.
The preparatory exercise for the Ipoh assignment will also serve as second phase of the Olympic training camp for the Pakistanis, who are hoping against hope to make their presence felt at London Games 2012.
Sources told ‘The News’ that it remains to be seen whether drag flick star Sohail Abbas will finally be able to resume training during the camp. Sohail, who holds the world record for scoring most international goals, suffered from a severe facial injury during last year’s Champions Trophy and has missed training with the national team since then.
Pakistan are lagging far behind most of the top Olympic contenders as they have not featured in any worthwhile competitions or played any major international matches since last December’s Champions Trophy in New Zealand.
Since the Champions Trophy where the Greenshirts slumped to an embarrassing seventh-place finish, Pakistan have lost two of their top players – Shakeel Abbasi and Rehan Butt — besides sacking their Dutch coach Michel van den Heuvel. Abbasi and Butt defected to the rebel World Series Hockey in India and now face an international ban while the Dutchman was removed as Pakistan coach for breach of contract.
Now the Pakistanis are hoping to give their Olympic preparations a shot in the arm by giving a forceful show at the Azlan Shah Cup to be played from may 24-June 3.
The seven-nation tournament will be played on a blue and pink pitch similar to the ones at the London Olympics.
Pakistan will face Great Britain (world No. 4), South Korea, New Zealand (7th), Argentina, (9), India (10) and hosts Malaysia (13) during the Ipoh event.
Pakistan, who are yet to experience a blue turf, will get to play several matches during the tournament and will also get two practice game in London on new pitches before the Games kicks off on July 27. Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is also trying to line up practice matches against New Zealand and Belgium just before the Olympics.
(http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-10-103468-Camp-for-Azlan-Shah-Cup-begins-tomorrow)