Pakistan Hockey Amsterdam On 15-day Europe Tour

A 20-member Pakistan hockey team squad reached Amsterdam, Holland as part of its 15-day Europe tour

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Apr, 2022 ) :A 20-member Pakistan hockey team squad reached Amsterdam, Holland as part of its 15-day Europe tour.

According to a media release issued by Pakistan Hockey Federation on Saturday, during the European trip, the national team will play six international matches before the start of the Asia Cup to be held in Jakarta from May 21.

Prior to the matches, the Pakistan team will train in Belgium for three days. Pakistan will play two matches against the Netherlands on April 26 and 27 in Breda. Then on April 28, it will attend a training session in Belgium. Pakistan team will play a match against Belgium. It will play the only match against Belgium on April 29.

The Pakistan team will leave for Spain on May 1 to play a three-match series against Spain. All three matches of the series will be played in Barcelona on May 2, 3, and 4. Later on May 5, the national team will fly back home.

Head coach Siegfried Aikman in a video statement expressed the optimism that Pakistan players would perform well during the tour. "The Europe tour will boost the morale of our players, which is necessary for their outstanding show in the upcoming Asia Cup. The matches can be used to gauge the performance of players," he said.

According to Aikman, the tour will help identify the grey areas and plan accordingly.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Akmal and Abdullah Ishtiaq Defenders: Mubbasher Ali; Amad Butt; Mohammad Abdullah; Arbaz Ali; Mohammad Rizwan and Hammad Anjum Midfielders: Umar Bhutta (captain); Ali Shaan (vice-captain); Ghazzanfer; Moin Shakeel; Abdul Manan and Junaid Manzoor.

Forwards: Abubaker Mehmood; Roman Khan; Rana Waheed; Hanan Shahid; Salman Razak and AjazManager: Khawaja Junaid. Coach: Siegfried Aikman. Assistant coach: Waseem Ahmad. Video analyst: Nadeem Lodhi.