Talking
to South Punjab News, Brig Khokhar said: “I went to meet Inter Provincial
Coordination (IPC) Minister Dr Fehmida Mirza along with secretary
Olympian Shahbaz Senior, but she was busy in National Assembly
proceedings and we met with IPC secretary Jamil Ahmad for more than two
hours. We informed him about the problems being faced by the federation
due to acute shortage of funds and Hockey World Cup is round the corner.
He told us to write down the suggestions to the ICP Ministry and
government and then we will send details in a day or two.”
He
said that they wanted to meet PM as soon as possible, as a few
so-called hockey lovers and former players were posing them as champions
and vowing to take Pakistan hockey to new heights, but the fact is that
no one can change the fortunes of hockey overnight. “We have
implemented our plans, which have now started bearing fruits. We have
done everything we could do and by the grace of Almighty and help of our
near and dear ones, we have brought betterment in Pakistan hockey and
found a great number of young and talented players, who are real asset
of the country.”
He said that the
critics must understand that it was only one-goal difference, which
deprived Pakistan of Asian Games medal, whether it was gold or bronze.
“Yes, it is true that green shirts failed in the crucial semifinal and
then the third place play off, but they played better hockey throughout
the Asian Games. One or two minor mistakes don’t mean that Pakistan
hockey team played badly. Only in near future, they were conceding
dozens of goals and could hardly score, but now they have scored more
than 40 goals and conceded only handful, which is, for me, a big
achievement.
“But the critics have
just one aim of spoiling all the good work done by the federation and
players. They never appreciate our good work and don’t recognise that
the team is gradually rising from the ashes and World Cup is just round
the corner, we need to be united, rather than point-scoring. They must
come up with ideas and ways how jointly we can improve hockey and win
laurels for the country,” he added.
When
asked about Oltman’s resignation and whether federation is still keen
to get back his services, Brig Khokhar said: “Oltmans has tendered his
resignation sighting personal problems and we respect his decision. He
spent around nine months with Pakistan hockey team and passed on his
knowledge to our coaches. Now time is short before the World Cup in
India and we don’t want to hire another international coach for the time
being.
“Our own coaches M Saqlain,
Rehan Butt and Hassan Sardar are capable of doing job for the country
and team. Hassan Sardar is a proven stuff and his presence with the
national team will prove very beneficial. I will personally visit the
national team training camp in Lahore and motivate the players to
deliver for the country,” he added.
The
PHF chief said that he could assure PM and IPC Minister that they are
capable of handling the pressure, turning the fortunes of national game
and winning laurels for the country. Once the federation gets sufficient
amount of funds, it will start delivering well.”
