Pak hockey squad named for Holland Tour

Lahore: The Pakistan Hockey Federation announced a 19-member squad for the Holland tour to be played from September 1 to 20. The team will play seven practice matches against Poland, France, Belgium and Holland. They will also play a match against the Netherlands to raise funds for the flood victims in Pakistan. The PHF had earlier announced that it would be holding the national training camp for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in Holland next month but faced with strong criticism over the decision to locate the camp outside Pakistan. The federation later decided to convert the camp into a training tour.The players include Imran Shah, Zeeshan Ashraf, Muhammad Imran, Kashif Javed, Waseem Ahmad, Muhammad Rashid, Waqas Sharif, Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan, Muhammad Tauseeq, Muhammad Omer Bhutta, Shafqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Fareed Ahmad, Muhammad Zubair, Waqas Akbar and Imran Butt. The players have already undergone ten days intensive physical training at an Army base in Abbotabad."Clearly the Pakistan federation officials are keen to wipe away the memories of the World Cup earlier this year in New Delhi when they go to play in the Commonwealth Games in the Indian capital," a PHF official said. PTI