Pakistan confident of Asian Games hockey gold

• Pakistan hockey coach Shahnaz Sheikh confident for Asian Games 2023.
• Targets podium finish after fixing past issues.
• Praises young team and penalty corner improvement.

Head coach Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh of the Pakistan hockey team expressed confidence that his team would surprise India in the upcoming Asian Games 2023. The team departed for Hangzhou, China, alongside the taekwondo and squash teams.

Shahnaz emphasized that they had diligently addressed the mistakes and weaknesses identified in previous tournaments. While not making extravagant claims, he remained optimistic that the Pakistan hockey team would demonstrate competence and strength, aiming for a podium finish.

In the Asian Games, Pakistan is placed in Group A alongside India, Japan, Bangladesh, Singapore, and Uzbekistan. Shahnaz acknowledged India’s strong world hockey ranking but pointed out that in the Asian region, the top teams have minimal differences. He believed that success would come to the team that can control nerves, execute strategies, exploit opponents’ weaknesses, minimize errors, and capitalize on scoring opportunities.

Shahnaz, recalling their victory over India in the 2014 Champions Trophy on Indian soil, highlighted that past perceptions of strength can be deceptive.

In their group, Pakistan recognized India and Japan as formidable opponents, crucial to overcome for advancing. The coach mentioned that they had identified weaknesses in these teams and intended to exploit them.

Shahnaz praised the young and energetic composition of the Pakistan hockey team, stating that they were fast learners and had undergone advanced hockey training during the preparation camp. He acknowledged the need for improvement in their penalty corner goal-scoring ratio and emphasized visible changes in this aspect.

Regarding penalty corner drills, Shahnaz mentioned that comprehensive training had been provided to the injector, stopper, and dragger positions, with mistakes from previous events addressed during the camp. He highlighted Sufiyan, Arbaz, and Rehman as the drag flickers and expressed hope for their strong performances in the Asian Games. The team’s five forwards were expected to execute an aggressive game plan to apply pressure on rival teams.

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