Pakistan Hockey Federation Rope In New Head Coach For Men, Players 'Shocked'

In what has come as a "shock" to the players, the Pakistan Hockey Federation has decided to replace their current head coach, Australia's Colin Batch, with former Olympian Manzoor ul Hasan for the upcoming FIH Pro Nations League and the World Cup. Sources close to the players said they were stunned to learn that instead of Batch, the PHF had gone ahead and named Manzoor as head coach. Manzoor is a celebrated defender who played in the 70s and 80s. A player, on condition of anonymity. said on Wednesday that the PHF's decision was "recipe for disaster".

"We were all happy that Colin Batch who is a qualified coach and aware of the modern day hockey requirements would be guiding us in two major events including the World Cup and now we get this shock," he said.

The interim PHF set-up also named a national selection committee headed by another celebrated Olympian Samiullah Khan.

The other selectors include Naeem Akhtar, Kashif Jawad, Muhammad Khalid, Nasir Ali and Atif Bashir.

One source said the players, some of whom are presently away in foreign leagues, would soon try to speak to the interim President and convince him to hire a foreign coach.

Pakistan finally managed to qualify for the World Cup being held in Belgium and the Netherlands in August after eight long years when they played in the final of a qualifying tournament in Egypt.

The PHF said in a notification that all appointments had been made on the recommendation of the PHF Professional Development Committee that includes two celebrated former captains, Hasan Sardar and Islahuddin Siddiqui.

The PHF also named Ayaz Mahmood as head coach of the Pakistan junior team. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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