KARACHI: Pakistan on Monday announced their final 18-man squad for London 2012 Olympic Games which will begin from July 27.
Following a series of meetings at the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) headquarters in Lahore, it was announced that an extended 20-man squad that was announced earlier this month has been cut down to 18. Those 18 players will go to London to feature in the Olympics though only 18 will be finally eligible to feature in the much-awaited spectacle.
The two players who have been axed from the 20-man list were Muhammad Zubair and Ali Shaan. A PHF official said that the team was finalized by national selectors after receiving inputs from the team management and approval from PHF President Qasim Zia.
Sohail Abbas, the seasoned drag flick expert, will lead Pakistan — winners of three Olympic titles. However, Pakistan have not an Olympic gold since the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. In fact they haven’t won any Olympic medal since claiming a bronze back in 1992 in Barcelona.
The Pakistanis will leave for England on July 12,
much ahead of their opening Pool A match against Spain on July 30.
They will set up a training camp in Cannock and will play a series of warm-up games there and later in London ahead of the Olympics.
The other teams in Pakistan group are world number ones Australia, hosts Great Britain, Argentina and South Africa.
Pakistan squad: Imran Shah, Imran Butt (Goalkeepers), Muhammad Irfan, Sohail Abbas (captain), Syed Kashif Shah and Muhammad Imran (Full-backs), Muhammad Rizwan Junior, Fareed Ahmed, Rashid Mahmood, Muhammad Tousiq and Waseem Ahmed (Midfielders), Muhammad Waqas (vice-captain), Shafqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Shakeel Abbasi, Rehan Butt, Muhammad Rizwan Senior and Muhammad Umar Bhutta (Forwards).
Officials: Akhtar Rasool (Manager/Head Coach), Khawaja Junaid (Coach), Ajmal Khan Lodhi and Shahid Ali Khan (Assistant coaches), Faiz-ur-Rahman (Physiotherapist) and Muhammad Nadeem Khan Lodhi (Video-Analyst).
