Pakistan hockey team captain Omer Bhutta believes that his players can surprise arch-rivals India in the 2021 edition of the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy.
The Green Shirts will be defending their title in a six-team tournament consisting of India, Malaysia Japan, South Korea, and Bangladesh. The competition will be played from December 14 to 22 at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka.
Bhutta, while talking to Bol News, believes that arch-rivals India will be the favourites for the title, especially after winning a bronze medal in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics.
“They [India] have just won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics so it is obvious that they have a really strong side,” he said. “But we have the potential to surprise them as it’s all about the nerves in a match between arch-rivals.
India will play Korea in the opening match on December 14 whereas Pakistan will play against Japan in the other opening day’s fixture. The titan clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours will be played on December 17.
Talking about the team’s chances in the competition, the 28-year-old reiterated that despite the young players’ inclusion, the target will be to lift the title.
“This is a young and inexperienced team so I cannot make any big claim,” he said. “But we’ll play our best to win the title which will help in improving our rankings.”
Head coach Olympian Khawaja Junaid expressed optimism in the team’s chances in the competition and revealed that there has been extra focus put in on improving the fitness of the players.
“Players have been thoroughly trained,” he said. “Especially in four areas with a focus on physical fitness and tactical understanding. I am sure the training has significantly improved the skills, physical fitness and individual performances of the players.”
Junaid also admitted that the team’s weakness is in the goalkeeping department but believes that participating in eight events in a short time will help the side in overcoming those problems.
“Goalkeeping department is a weakness, and I am sure we will have to work hard to improve it,” he said. “But forwards, defenders and penalty drag flickers are in form. Our national team has not been able to participate in the international event for the last 2 years but now we are going to participate in at least eight events in a short time. I am sure it will help players in improving their game and lift the team’s ranking from 18th.”
The 2021 Men’s Asian Champions Trophy will be the sixth edition in the competition’s history. The tournament was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
Introduced in 2011, the Asian Champions Trophy has now turned into a marquee event in the Asian Hockey Federation’s calendar.
Both Pakistan and India have won the title three times which included one joint-winners medal in 2018 when the final was washed out because of persistent rain.
Pakistan squad:
Goalkeepers: Waqar (Wapda), Abdullah Ishtiaq (Mari Petroleum), Fullbacks: Mubashir Ali (Wapda), Ammad Shakeel Butt (National Bank), Tazeem ul Hassan (Mari Petroleum), Muhammad Abdullah (Mari Petroleum), Aqeel Ahmed (Mari Petroleum) Halfbacks: Abu Bakar Mahmood (National Bank), Moin Shakeel (WAPDA), Hamad-ud-Din Anjum (WAPDA), Ghazanfar Ali (Mari Petroleum, Azfar Yaqoob (Sui Southern Gas)) Forwards: M Umar Bhatta (WAPDA), Ali Shan (Sui) Southern Gas), Ejaz Ahmed (WAPDA), Rana Waheed (WAPDA), Junaid Manzoor (National Bank), Afraz (Mari Petroleum), Ahmed Nadeem (Mari Petroleum) and M Salman Razzaq (WAPDA).
