Pakistan have announced the national squad and team officials for the upcoming Hockey World Cup.
The squad includes captain Abu Bakr Mahmood, Waqar, Abdullah, Sufyan Khan, Moeen Shakeel, Abdul Waheed, Ashraf Rana, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Arshad Liaqat, Adil Latif, Ahmed Nadeem, Ghazanfar Ali, Imad Shakeel Butt, Hammad Din Anjum, Rehman Abdul, Afraz, Umar Mustafa, Ali Raza, Abdul Matan, and Muhammad Imad. The squad also features two goalkeepers, Waqar and Ali Raza.
Owais Qarni has been appointed as team manager, Bob Johan Veldhof will serve as head coach, and Christopher John Bowen as assistant coach.
Pakistan Hockey Federation President Mohiuddin Ahmed Wani expressed full confidence in the announced squad.
The Hockey World Cup will be held from August 15 to 30 in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Earlier, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) took a major step in its preparations for the upcoming Hockey World Cup by delegating team selection authority to the Pakistan team’s foreign coaching staff.
The move underlines the federation’s commitment to ensuring that selection is based on merit, fitness, and performance.
The foreign coaches conducted in-depth fitness evaluations for all participants in the national training camp and provided a detailed report after the fitness test.
The PHF also reiterated that no player shall be included in the squad unless they meet the fitness criteria as well as the criteria and expectations of the coaching staff.
They believe that emphasising fitness will enable Pakistan to put their best foot forward in the World Cup.
The two foreign coaches are at the national training camp in Islamabad where the camp is in progress.
The sessions were designed to develop the endurance, strength, speed and overall physical fitness of the players and enable the coaches to closely monitor their development before making their final recommendations.
Read more: New era for Pakistan hockey as PHF brings in foreign coaching staff