The Pak team for the 5v5 event travels to Switzerland tomorrow
KARACHI: Olympian Rehan Butt has said the Pakistani team is fully prepared for the five-player FIH tournament that begins June 4 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“The players are excited about this event and are keen to show their best skills to give Pakistan credit for having the country’s name featured in this new version of hockey,” the head coach told The News on Monday. .
“All our training is finished and on Tuesday (today) the training camp will be closed and the next day we will leave for Switzerland,” he added. The other teams in the tournament are Malaysia, India, Poland and Switzerland. The tournament is played on a league basis. Every team plays against every other team. The two best teams in the points table contest the final.
“The players know that Pakistan needs wins and this is a good opportunity to show their talent in this new version of the game,” he said. “Our first goal is to qualify for the final. Then we’ll see what happens, because on the day of the final, the team that takes the most chances wins. Luck is important too,” he added.
He said India and Malaysia are tough opponents. “But we will not take any team lightly. Poland are also playing well,” he said. Rehan said the Pakistan team would consist of 10 players who would be joined by him and assistant coach Waqas Sharif.
He said the event is part of the preparations for the inaugural 5v5 Ice Hockey World Championship in Oman in 2023. “This version is fast-paced, competitive, and aggressive with fewer goalscoring restrictions. Any player, regardless of position, can hit and score the goal. In the absence of penalty corners and corner kicks, only penalty opportunities are available and if the ball remains in play, play will continue if no goal is scored,” Butt said.
The game lasts 20 minutes – 10 minutes per half. The tournament will be over in two days as each team will play two games a day.
The green shirts return home on June 6th. Squad Pakistan: Waqar Younis (goalkeeper), Ehtesham Aslam, Aqeel Ahmed, Mohammad Murtaza Yaqoob, Tazeem-ul-Hassan (captain), Arshad Liaquat, Hassan Amin, Abuzar, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Shahzeb.