Beleaguered Pak hockey team will “bounce back strongly”: PHF Secretary

KARACHI - Pakistan hockey will soon revive its lost glory, as the Greenshirts have been put on the right track and will start producing desired results as early as in the ongoing Asian Games in Guangzhou, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Asif Bajwa has said.

“We may seem to be down and out following a couple of poor outings but let me assure you that team is going to bounce back strongly,” The News quoted Bajwa, as saying.

The former Olympian expressed his confidence that Pakistan would do well in the Asian Games and would continue to improve next year in the lead up to the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

“Everything will start falling into place for Pakistan hockey soon,” promised Bajwa, who returned home after attending the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Congress in the Swiss city of Montreux over the weekend.

The PHF Secretary revealed that he had a series of crucial meetings on the sidelines of the FIH Congress, adding that substantial progress was made over the revival of bilateral matches against India. “We are expecting to revive our bilateral series against India next year,” he said.

Bajwa said that Pakistan was planning to host a couple of international events ahead of the World League Round 3 in 2013 that has been allotted to it by the FIH.

He also said that hockey would be included in next month’s National Games.

“There will be no National Games without hockey,” he stressed.

It is noteworthy that the organisers of the National Games to be held in Peshawar had controversially axed hockey from the event. (ANI)