F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) will be sending junior players to Argentina and South Africa in order to prepare them for the 2019 Asia Cup and 2020 Junior World Cup.
Talking to media, PHF Secretary Shahbaz Ahmad Sr said the national junior team will play five-matches against Olympic champions Argentina next month and then would probably travel to South Africa for a series there. “The junior team’s tour to South Africa is under finalization at the moment,” he said. He said to groom our young players we have also planned to send them to Australia for participation in their Under-21 National Domestic Championship. “Playing against Argentina, South Africa and Australia will develop advanced-level hockey skills among the junior players,” he said. Shahbaz said our players lack international exposure which is the reason why our team ends up losing in international competitions. “By providing tours to our junior players we are preparing them to replace the seniors in future,” he said. He said we had also planned junior team’s tour to many other European countries in the second half of the year whose details will be brought to fore once they are finalized.
