Karachi, April 16 (Inditop.com) Pakistan Friday named Olympian Khwaja Junaid as its hockey coach for next month’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh (Malaysia) after failing to rope in a foreign coach because of security-related problems.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Qasim Zia announced after a meeting of the Executive Board in Lahore that Junaid has been appointed for an interim period for the tournament in Ipoh May 6-16.
Junaid, who replaces Shahid Ali Khan — the former coach who was sacked after Pakistan’s dismal last-place finish in the World Cup — has been serving as the national junior team coach. Under his command, Pakistan has won three of the four events it has featured on the international circuit since early last year.
Qasim, also an Olympian, said the PHF tried its best to hire a foreign coach but neither of the experts contacted by Pakistan was ready to come here because of security concerns.
The PHF president said he will continue making efforts to get best possible people to train the national team in the hope that the Greenshirts will do well in future international events like this year’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and the Asian Games in China.
rounak