Manager national hockey team Olympian Sameer Hussain is more than happy for Pakistan to have an underdog status in the Commonwealth Games, insisting that their first focus is to qualify for semifinals.
“Although we are at the bottom in terms of our ranking, I feel our team is comprised of a highly talented bunch of players, who on their day can spring a surprise,” Sameer told APP on Thursday.
World number 18 Pakistan, are placed in group A alongside Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and South Africa. Australia are the top-ranked side, while others barring Scotland too are better-ranked as compared to Pakistan.
“We did not play much international hockey in recent years due to Covid-19 and some other issues. That is why our ranking is so low.
“Now, we have a young competitive squad. The majority of our boys made their debuts in the Asia Cup. Though we could not make a cut to the World Cup, we put up a good show [in Asia Cup].
“Now there is an opportunity for us [in the Commonwealth Games] to better our ranking by finishing at a respectable position,” he added.
He said the first target for the national team at the Commonwealth Games was to qualify for the semifinals. “Our first focus is to advance to the semifinal. We’ve seen videos of competitions of other teams in our group and have planned accordingly.
“We know our grey areas and worked out a lot to plug in these.”
Sameer said penalty corners mattered a lot but scoring field goals was equally important. “It is heartening that we have a pretty aggressive forward line, who has the ability to shock any strong defence.
“We’ve also a solid defensive unit, who is fully capable of thwarting attacks of any strong side.
“It will be interesting to see how our young guns implement our plans,” he added.
Pakistan will start their campaign on Saturday (July 30) against South Africa. They will take on New Zealand on July 31 in their second match. Then, they will face Scotland on August 3. In their last group match on August 4, they will face six-time Commonwealth Games hockey champions Australia.
The top two teams will move to the semifinals, taking place on August 6. The final will be held on August 8, the last day of the multi-sports event.
Hockey has been played at the Commonwealth Games since 1998 and in that first year, it was Australia who dominated, winning gold in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Malaysia men and England women took silver, while England men and New Zealand women won the bronze medals.
The Commonwealth Games has a rich sporting tradition that goes back to 1930. In its earliest iteration, the coveted event featured 11 nations and 400 athletes. Now, in its 22nd edition, 4,600 athletes from 72 nations and territories will be participating in the English city of Birmingham in the event known as the Friendly Games.
