03-Dec-2011
The News
Our Correspondent
KARACHI: Former champions Pakistan will take the field at the North Harbour Hockey Stadium in Auckland on Saturday (today) for their first Champions Trophy outing in four years, fully aware that they will have to give their best to have any hopes of upsetting Pool A rivals Great Britain.
At number nine in the world, Pakistan are the lowest-ranked team in the eight-nation spectacle, which is one of the prime reasons why not many critics are giving them a chance to progress to the last-four stage of the tournament that will conclude on December 11.
But the Pakistanis are confident that they can make their presence felt in the prestigious event.
Their optimism springs from the fact that the Greenshirts have been on a high since last year when they regain the Asian Games crown in China. Just last month, Pakistan stunned world champions Australia in the final of a three-nation event in Perth. Australia, who as world’s number one team are the top seeds in the tournament, are also placed in Pakistan’s group along with Spain.
“We know the enormity of the challenge and are ready for it,” says Pakistan manager Khawaja Junaid. “Pakistan are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament and the underdog status suits us just fine as there will be no pressure on the boys,” added Junaid, a former Olympian.
“We have nothing to lose,” he said. “That’s why I’m expecting the boys to go just go out there and give their best against higher-ranked teams like Britain and Australia.”
Pakistan, who have fielded a relatively young team in the competition, will mostly be relying on the experience of senior players like Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmed, Shakeel Abbasi and Salman Akber. The quartet have been around for years and regarded among the world’s leading players.
All eyes will be on Sohail, who holds the record for scoring the highest number of goals in international hockey. The drag flick ace is also one of the most successful scorers in Champions Trophy history with 40 goals.
Junaid is confident that Sohail will deliver in Auckland. “Sohail is in good form and we are expecting that he will do well here.
At an average age of just over 28, the British squad is the oldest at the event — youthful Pakistan, by comparison, have brought a team with an average age of just 24.
“We have some really talented young boys who I believe are an asset for the team,” said Junaid.
Meanwhile, Britain’s skipper Barry Middleton said his team no longer fears losing as they prepare to take on top rivals at the Champions Trophy.
Coach Jason Lee had suggested ahead of the tournament that Britain must still “learn not to be afraid of defeat”.
“I don’t know if it’s holding the team back. I don’t think there was a fear of losing at [this summer’s] European Championships,” said Middleton.
Middleton’s side won the 2009 European Championships but has reached only one major final since — the 2010 Champions Trophy, where they lost to World Cup holders Australia. Questions have been raised over the English and, by extension, British ability to cope in big-game environments.
“I hope we can make the top four and reach the final or the medal games here. Those are the sorts of games where we’re still learning,” Middleton told BBC Sport.
Britain’s Alastair Wilson flew home to the UK on Friday having withdrawn from the British squad with tendonitis around the knee. Wilson’s replacement is 33-year-old Ken Forbes, formerly a South African international, who made his British debut two weeks ago in a friendly against Belgium.
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