Showing posts with label Hockey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hockey. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 12, 2012




FIH Press Release

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 11, 2012: The International Hockey Federation announced latest edition of its FIH Men’s World Rankings on Tuesday after the Champions Trophy 2012 came to its conclusion on Sunday.



While the top four positions in the FIH Men’s World Rankings remained unchanged, it was Pakistan who made the most promising run in the top ten as it jumped from ninth to fifth position.

The London 2012 Olympic Gold medallists Germany are still holding the number 1 spot followed by Champions Trophy winners Australia (2nd), Olympic and Champions Trophy Silver medallists The Netherlands (3rd) and England (4th) are occupying the top four positions.

Success in the Champions Trophy for the Kookaburras has seen them slightly narrow the gap between themselves and Germany, while recent strong performances from the Dutch have seen them increase their advantage over England.

Thanks to their brilliant Bronze medal at the Champions Trophy, Pakistan are the most improved nation in the top ten having leapt from 9th place to 5th.

New Zealand continue to hold 6th place ahead of Spain (7th), Champions Challenge finalists Korea (8th), Belgium (9th) and Champions Challenge winners Argentina (10th).






Thursday, December 6, 2012




By Nadene Smith

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 6, 2012: Pakistan stunned Olympic champions Germany by two goals to one to storm their way into semi-final of the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament on Thursday.


Two goals by Shakeel Abbasi set Pakistan against Netherlands, who defeated New Zealand by 2-0, in semi-final.

India will take on Australia in the second semi-final after beating Belgium by 1-0. Australia defeated England 2-0 in the last quarterfinal.



By AM Khan

LAHORE, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) December 6, 2012: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) scored a narrow 2-1 win over National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Pakistan Army played a 1-1 draw against Customs in the Gold Cup Hockey Tournament at the outer ground of the National Hockey Stadium on Thursday.


The national air career led the first half 2-1 while the second half failed to produce even a single goal which narrated the saga of missed chances and long term ball possession on part of both the sides.

PIA shot into lead with the fifth minute goal scored by Inyat Ullah in mid field move. PIA beaming with stars accelerated the pace of attacks and deployed full force to hunt more goals.

Ammad Shakeel Butt scored their second in the 27th minute before Bankers equalised at 1-1 after receiving 21st minute goals from Arslan Qadir in a lovely mid field move aided by right and left wings.

Both the teams did everything except scoring in the coming half and long time balls possession mostly confined the game to mid field.

Customs and Army played a goalless first half and the real action of the game was seen in the second half. Both the teams made desperate productive efforts to score and Customs stamped their supremacy with the 52nd minute penalty corner goal scored by Mushtaq. Army salvaged their pride three minute before the close of the when Safeer equalized off a short corner.

Friday is the rest day while Army will take on NBP and Wapda will play against Customs on Saturday.



By AM Khan

LAHORE, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) December 6, 2012: The Flying Dutch Veterans hockey team will concluded their tour to Pakistan on Friday with the third and final match against their Dutch counterparts at the Johar Hockey Stadium at 1430 PST.


Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif is expected to be the chief guest for the final match.

The current hockey series of the visiting Flying Dutch hockey team, which is here on the combined invitation of Dar Hockey Academy president Tauqir Dar and the Sports Board Punjab (SBP), is being held under the banner of the Punjab International Sports Festival.

Dutch veterans having the services of five former internationals and Olympians have played two matches, drawing the first match 2-2 with the Aitcheson College team before edging out the young guns of Dar Academy 5-4.

Pakistan veterans’ team comprises Hasan Sardar, Samiullah, Danish Kaleem, Shahbaz Senior, M Akhlaq, Rana Mujahid, Khawaja Junaid, Saleem Sherwani, Shahid Ali Khan, Khalid Bashir, Anjum Saeed, Tahir Zaman, Khalid Rasool and Arshad Ch.

The Flying Dutch’s team consists of Rood Ven Rooij, Sander Ven Hyfte, Gerd Scuiatmann, Maarton Ven Grimbergen, Gonans Gratama, Michel Princen, Williem Bams, Martyn Gosens, Walter Michels, Peter Vogeaar, Gys Wetering, Rewe Klaassen, Wouter Ven Pelt, Mark Kleysen, Paul De Ruyter, Jan Chris Pinexteren and Sultan Ahmed. Win Kemps is coach and Rob Lathouwers manager.



By Jamie Pierce

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 6, 2012: A controversial goal helped Pakistan defeat the Olympic champions Germany by two goals to one to book them a place in the semifinals stage of the 2012 Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament in Melbourne on Thursday.


Shakeel Abbasi scored both of Pakistani goals while Germany’s only goal was scored by their skipper Mo Fuerste in the first half.

Pakistan has dominated most of the teams in the current edition of the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament but lacked the execution on most occasions and the same problem continued pegging them back in the first half of their quarterfinal match against Germany as they missed numerous chances which helped German cause.

Germany went up by a goal only in the ninth minute when skipper Mo Fuerste delivered a back flick from on top of the D-area as Pakistani goalkeeper, who has been a revelation in the tournament, couldn’t stop it passing by him into the goal.

Germany entered the halfway stage with a goal advantage and Pakistan were left ruing a number of chances going begging in the first 35 minutes.

Pakistan continued to dominate the possession in the second half and kept attacking the German goal which soon translated into their first goal with Shakeel Abbasi finally managing to sneak one past the German goalkeeper who stood like a rock in the goal for the best part.

With game equalized, it was Germans who came under severe pressure as their forwards wasted various chances due to nervous energy in the business area around Pakistani goal which made the job easy for Pakistani defenders and goalkeepers in many ways.

On the other side, Pakistani forwards upped the tempo and put German defence line under tremendous pressure and soon they got a penalty corner. German goalkeeper was able to stop the direct hit by Pakistani striker but rebound came slowly to another Pakistani striker whose back-stick hit the ball (which is a foul as per hockey rules) and his touch led the ball to another Pakistani striker who passed the ball to Shakeel Abbasi whose back-flick beat the goalkeeper into the net.

German players challenged the goal but the television referee maintained the decision made by the onfield umpire on the basis of the assumption that the ball after hitting the backside of Pakistani striker’s stick didn’t deviate and changed its pace so as to help Pakistan in anyway.

German officials didn’t like the ruling and approached the match officials but couldn’t do more than registering their protest as Pakistan acquired a one goal advantage over the Olympic champions.
 
Pakistan continued enjoying the possession thereafter and German strikers failed to force the issue until the final couple of minutes when two unnecessary fouls by Pakistani players cut them down to nine men on the field as two of their players including the goal-scorer Shakeel Abbasi were showed yellow cards.

The unnecessary fouls gave Germans the lift they required and they achieved a penalty corner in the final minute of the match but they failed to exhibit their professionalism and lost the opportunity to equalize the game and take it into the extra time.

With this victory, Pakistan entered the semi-finals stage of the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament for the first time in eight years and this triumph has also ensured them qualification into the next edition of the tournament.

The victory for Pakistan also bettered their bilateral record against Germany as now they have defeated the Germans on 10 occasions as against 12 defeats while six matches between the two sides ended in a stalemate.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012




By AM Khan

LAHORE, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) December 5, 2012: The Flying Dutch Hockey team on Wednesday defeated the young guns of the Dar Academy 5-4 in a hotly-contested second match of the three-match series here at the Johar Hockey Stadium.


The Dar Academy which was leading the game at half time 2-1 lost the match with a goal difference as experience prevailed over youth. The average age of Dar Academy was below 20 whereas the foreign side was beaming with veteran Olympians and former world cup players.

The Flying Dutch Hockey team is visiting Lahore on the invitation of the Dar Hockey Academy and with the support of the Sports Board Punjab, which is following the vision of the Punjab government in holding national and international sports events.

MNA Mian Hamza Shahbaz was the chief guest of the hockey match and presented souvenirs to the visiting team. Usman Anwar, Director General Sports and Youth Affairs was also present on the occasion along with former international Pakistan hockey players and Olympians like Khawaja Zakauddin, Danish Kaleem and Tauqir Dar, who is also president of the Dar Academy were also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Hamza said that the Punjab government not only held international sports activity in the province but also displayed to the world that the country is safe for holding any international tournament. “With the successful holding of the Punjab International Sports Festival we have helped in portraying a soft image of the country and the world has now realized that Pakistan is safe to host any international team,” he said.

“We have not only established 11 world records but also showed to the world more than 2.5 million people took part in the Punjab Youth Festival,” he said.

Expressing his surprise on the progress of the Dar Academy team players, Dutch team manager Bob said that he had seen these youngsters playing in Holland a year ago and they had improved their game a lot. He also expressed his surprise over the wrong impression being spread about Pakistan regarding insecurity and praised the treatment they were given thus far during their stay in Pakistan.

The Dutch veterans apart from playing hockey are also visiting historic and places of interest like Wagha Border, Lahore Fort, Badshahi Masjid etc. and as a good will gesture they have also brought 200 hockey playing kits for the Pakistan youngsters.






By AM Khan

LAHORE, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) December 5, 2012: Pakistan Customs caught the star-studded PIA by surprise with a 2-1 victory while Wapda outplayed Sui Southeran Gas Company 4-2 in the NBP Gold Cup Hockey Tournament at the outer ground of the National Hockey Stadium Wednesday.


It was an unexpected win on part of Customs against the national air career boys and the winners struck a brilliant show of skillful hockey and technique. Customs led the first half 1-0 at break after receiving 28th minute field goal from their captain Rizwan Khan.

PIA came in patches but failed to make a productive impression on their opponents who were far ahead in attacks launched by their mid field with the aid of their both right and left flanks.

Customs appeared in total control when Amir Ali scored the 52nd minute field goal for the much disappointment of Airlines.

Airlines gained some relief when Kashif Ali translated the 58th minute short corner with a calculated shot. Wapda and SSGC played a 1-1 draw at half time.

Wapda jolted SSGC with the addition of a goal in the very first minute through Shahbaz Ali as SSGC leveled one minutes before the end of the first after receiving a goal from Zeeshan. Wapda played the second half with splerndid display of artistic hockey hammering three more goals to leave their opponents in deep gloom.

Salman Hussain scored the 40th minute goal as Sohail Abbas contributed a penalty corner goal in the 62ndminute and Mohammad Suleman added 69th minute field goal before Sohail Manzoor supported SSGC with a penalty corner goal.

Today’s matches: Army vs Customs and NBP vs PIA.

Monday, December 3, 2012




By AM Khan

LAHORE, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) December 3, 2012: The friendship hockey match between Flying Dutch veteran hockey team and Aitcheson College hockey team ended in a draw 2-2 here at the Aitcheson College hockey ground.



Pakistan’s very young legs fought against the Dutch old hockey greats including Van Pelete who had played three Olympics for Holland and won two Olympics gold, Waltering was another big name of hockey world who scored the final goal in the 1990 World Cup final at Lahore.


In the first half, both the teams played well and gave tough time to each other but then Hussain of Aitcheson College came to the front and scored the first goal for his team.

But after 10 mintues, Dutch player Van Higfte leveled the score and the first half ended with 1-1 score.

Aitcheson College’s Shahzore played brilliantly in the second half and converted a superb goal to make it 2-1.

In the dying moments of the match, Dutch veteran team captain Van Pelete scored an equalizer to finish the match as 2-2 draw.

Talking about the match, the Dutch players said that they played on grass after 25 years as they had played most of their hockey on astro-turf.

They also appreciated the hospitality and love they had received from Pakistani people especially from Dar Hockey Academy which is hosting the friendly matches.






Sunday, December 2, 2012




By Ashley Williams

LONDON, England (TheSportsNEXT) December 2, 2012: Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge returned to her former Prep School on Sunday and took hockey stick in her hand and wasted no time to step into the hockey field wearing heels.



Not wearing a professional athletic kit rather wearing an Alexander McQueen dress and high-heeled boots, Kate Middleton showed her love for the game of field hockey as she dribbled across the Astroturf to delight the students.

A number of reporters followed the Duchess of Cambridge, who was a regular visitor at this year’s London Olympic Games, and took pride in making headlines regarding her hockey skills all across the British media.

Kate Middleton attended St. Andrew's in Pangbourne, Berkshire from 1986-1995 and was on hand to unveil a plague to open a new turf pitch.










By Luther Jefferson

QUILMES, Argentina (TheSportsNEXT) December 3, 2012: Argentina qualified for the next edition of Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament on Sunday when they outclassed Korea by 5-0 in final of the Champions Challenge 1 in Quilmes.



It was a truly brilliant performance from the South Americans, who totally dominated the world number 7 to seal a place in the next edition of the FIH Champions Trophy.

Agustin Mazzilli, Gonzalo Peillat, Pedro Ibarra, Guillermo Schickendantz and Manuel Brunet were the scorers for Argentina, delighting a huge partisan crowd in Quilmes.

Argentina were hugely impressive in the first half of the final, and snatched an early lead when Agustin Mazzilli pounced on a loose ball in the Korean circle to score and send the home fans into raptures.

Gonzalo Peillat added a second goal two minutes from the end of the half with a blistering penalty corner, rattling the backboard with a perfectly executed low effort.

The home side won a succession of penalty corners at the end of the first half, but their failure to convert their chances left Korea very much in the game for the second half.

However, Argentina added a third goal at the very start of the second period, with Pedro Ibarra taking on the flicking duties with another brilliant penalty corner effort.

Korea went in search of a much needed goal, but an error in their own circle cost them another penalty corner.

Again, there was a different player taking the flick, with Guillermo Schickendantz sending a high shot into the roof of the net for his fifth goal of a remarkable debut tournament.

The fifth and final goal was a beautiful move from Argentina, passing their way through the Korean defence before Manuel Brunet tapped in from close range to seal an epic victory.

The competition final brought to an end a hugely entertaining event, with all of the matches being played in a great spirit under glorious sunshine.

Argentina forward Lucas Vila was named as the Player of the Tournament thanks to some outstanding displays for his team, while the Goalkeeper of the Tournament Award went to Ireland’s David Harte.

Korea’s Jong Hyun Jang finished as the tournament’s top goal scorer thanks to eight penalty corner strikes, while Japan were given the Fair Play award for receiving the lowest number of disciplinary cards.

The bronze medal went the way of Ireland, who defeated Malaysia 4-3 thanks to a golden goal from Peter Caruth.

It was a remarkable achievement for a team playing in their first ever Champions Challenge 1, and one that their players will never forget.

Earlier in the day, Japan took fifth place with a 4-2 win over Canada, while South Africa took seventh place by beating Poland 4-1. Reports for both of these matches can be found by clicking here.

Final Standings at Champions Challenge 1
1: Argentina (Promoted to the Champions Trophy)
2: Korea
3: Ireland
4: Malaysia
5: Japan
6: Canada
7: South Africa
8: Poland

Awards:
Player of the Tournament: Lucas Vila (ARG)
Goalkeeper of the Tournament: David Harte (IRL)
Top Goal-scorer: Jang Jong Hyun (KOR) – 8 goals.
Fair Play Award: Japan



By Nadene Smith

MELBOURNE, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) December 2, 2012: Pakistan opened their account in the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament 2012 on Sunday when they defeated Belgium by two goals to nil in Melbourne.



Haseem Khan and Shafqat Rasool scored the goals for Pakistan.

In other matches, England defeated Germany for the first time in Champions Trophy as they won the match by 4-1 while the match between Australia and Netherlands ended in a goalless draw.









Thursday, November 22, 2012




By Nadene Smith

SYDNEY, Australia (TheSportsNEXT) November 22, 2012: The arch-rivals Pakistan and India started their nine-a-side Lanco International Super Series hockey campaign off to a poor start on Thursday.



The two South Asian teams were rocked by Australia and England who looked far more professional and agile in the box.

In the inaugural match of the nine-a-side Lanco International Super Series Hockey, Australia defeated Pakistan by four goals to two at the Perth Hockey Stadium in Bentley.

Aussies were leading the match by 3-1 at halfway stage and with both teams scoring another goal in the second half it was the home side which recorded a rather comfortable victory.

Veteran Aussie hockey player Jamie Dwyer was once again amongst the goals as he scored twice while Liam de Young and Beale Daniel also provided one goal apiece as Australia completely looked a better side on the field. For Pakistan, Abdul Haseem Khan and Muhammad Rizwan Senior scored one goal each but that proved insufficient to challenge Australia on their home soil.

In the other match of the opening day, England came from behind to stun the Indians by two goals to one in Perth.

Gurvinder Singh Chandi gave India the important lead but Indian defence-line failed to cope up with the mounted pressure by the English hockey players as they bounced their way back into contention when Daniel Fox equalized and then sealed the deal when David Condon gave the Englishmen the winning lead.

India will be up against Australia on Friday before the bitter rivals Pakistan and India heat up the tournament Saturday.

The nine-a-side format, also known as Hockey 9s, has the only tournament named the Lanco International Super Series played every year in Australia. This year’ edition of the Lanco International Super Series being played in Perth will be followed by the highly-esteemed FIH Champions Trophy 2012 in Melbourne from December 1-9, 2012 at the State Netball Hockey Center.

The hosts Australia, Olympic champions Germany, Australia, England, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium, India and Pakistan will battle it out in Melbourne for the Champions Trophy Hockey 2012 title.

Sunday, November 18, 2012




By Shehzad Owaisi

KARACHI, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) November 18, 2012: German hockey team defeated Indian hockey team by three goals to two on Sunday to clinch the Johor Baru Junior Hockey Asia Cup title in Malaysia.


Pakistani hockey team continued to disappoint the local fans as it ended the tournament on a losing note after losing to Australia in the third position playoff.

Thursday, October 25, 2012


By Babar Malik




Is this the end of Sohail Abbas' international hockey career?





ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) October 26, 2012: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), on Thursday, named 27-man probables for the 34th Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament to be played in Melbourne from December 1-9, 2012.

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The PHF selectors have excluded veterans Rehan Butt and Sohail Abbas but Mohammad Imran, Wasim Ahmed, and Imran Shah managed to find a place in the squad.

The training camp will commence from October 31 in Johar Town Hockey Stadium in Lahore.

Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy Hockey 2012 includes Mohammad Salman Hussain, Waqas Liaqat Butt, Imran Junior, Ahmed Zubair, Usman Rafiq, Ali Hassan, Talal Khalid, Kashif Ali, Sibtain Naqvi, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Rizwan Junior, Ali Shan, Mohammad Ateeq, Mohammad Nawaz, Waseem Ahmed, Mohammad Tauseeq, Fareed Ahmed, Mohammad Waqas, Shafqat Rasool, Umar Bhutta, Imran Shah, Imran Butt, Irfan Senior, Kashif Shah, Mohammad Imran senior and Mohammad Rizwan senior.

Pakistan is participating in the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament 2012 after International Hockey Federation (FIH) invited them to be part of the competition after finishing seventh at the Hockey even of the London 2012.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

By AM Khan





LAHORE, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) October 3, 2012: The official email address of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has been hacked and the federation is facing greater difficulty due to the fraudulent emails being sent from the address to various individuals and national hockey federations across the world.

 

Some hackers hacked our email address on Tuesday afternoon and sent spurious emails to different people and national federations whose email addresses were saved in the folder for official correspondence, said PHF secretary M Asif Bajwa here on Tuesday.

PHF was using Pakhockeyfederation@yahoo.com which is no more the valid email address of PHF which has created the new address of pakhockeyfederation@gmail.com.

“We immediately informed the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and all the affiliated national hockey federations across the world about the hacking and asked them not to give any importance to what so ever emails or messages they are receiving from the old address. By the time, the PHF introduced its new email address the hackers sent a number of emails to create confusion,” he added.

Bajwa said they had acquired the services of IT experts to determine who is behind the hacking of their email address.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

By Lindy Rumer


The Los Angeles Kings celebrate after defeating the New Jersey Devils in Game Six of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center.

NEW YORK, United States (TheSportsNEXT) September 28, 2012: All the preseason games of the National Hockey League 2012-13 (NHL 2013) were cancelled Thursday by the NHL authorities after it failed to achieve common grounds with the NHL Players Association which resulted in the lockout.



 

The NHL, which locked out players on September 16, 2012 when the collective bargaining agreement expired, announced the decision to scrap all the preseason games in a two-line statement.

Scott Parse of Los Angeles Kings celebrates with Stanley Cup
Previously, the NHL had cancelled the NHL preseason games scheduled for September and while the NHL regular season was due to commence from October 11, 2012 the authorities failed to reach an agreement with the NHLPA and now have been forced to cancel all the preseason games.

The move has come just a day ahead of the NHL-NHLPA talks scheduled for Friday where both sides will be negotiating secondary economic and financial issues. The crux of the disagreement is the distribution of over 3 billion US dollars in annual NHL revenue.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

By Lindy Rumer






WASHINGTON, United States (TheSportsNEXT) September 26, 2012: The city of New York will be hosting the next round of negotiations between the NHL owners and the NHL Players Association (NHLPA) on Friday in what would be the first talks since the NHL lockout commenced.



 

The NHL commissioners heralded lockout on September 15, 2012 after NHL and NHLPA failed to reach a conclusion in a series of negotiations to find common grounds on players’ revenue generation formula.

The Friday’s round of talks would primarily focus on secondary economic issues but experts are looking at it as a start of an ice-melting process if both the parties end on the same page.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and NHL Players' Association special counsel Steve Fehr already has had a meeting on Tuesday in Toronto which gave birth to Friday’s negotiations. The last time when the two sides discussed issues was on September 12, 2012 and since then it has been nothing but frustration for the NHL fans.

The NHL 2012 Lockout is the third lockout since 1993 when Gary Bettman became NHL commissioner and training camps were to open on September 16 for the fresh and new NHL season but the talks collapsed on September 12 which resulted in the stalemate.

The last NHL lockout had occurred in 2004-05 when it ate up the whole season and eventually ended with players made to accept a salary cap.

Nothing much is expected to happen on Friday because the NHL and NHLPA are firm on their respective stances over revenue generation formula but the other economic issues which are also vital for an agreement would be put on the table of negotiations.

Steve Fehr told local reporters Tuesday that pension and medical plans, schedule rules, drug testing, and the grievance procedure are the topics which would be negotiated in New York on Friday.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told reporters after Monday’s talks, "Obviously, we've got to talk before you can get a deal, so I think it's important to get the talks going again. But you also have to have something to say. I think it's fair to say we feel like we need to hear from the players' association in a meaningful way because I don't think that they've really moved off their initial proposal, which was made more than a month ago now."

The NHL, which has 3.3 billion US dollars in annual revenues, is not going to make a single dough this year if the talks failed to bear a result and NHL experts have already started fearing losing the whole season to the lockout.

The NHL owners want to cut down on players’ share of hockey-related revenues from 57 percent to somewhere around 47-49 percent, which are still around 4 percent more than what they originally offered, i.e. 43 percent.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

By AM Khan



LAHORE (TheSportsNext) September 4, 2012: Former Olympian Naveed Alam has been nominated as coordinator sports of the province to look after the day to day affairs of sports during the ongoing sporting activities.




 


Notification of his appointment has been issued and he, along with other former Olympians, will look after the sports activities of the province.

Meanwhile, a board of coordination for sport has also been formed by Alam and the board is also followed by various sub committees. Pakistan legend and hockey great Khawaja Zakauddin has also been looped in as chairman of the selection committee while Tahir Zaman, another former Olympian, has been made head to conduct coaching courses and workshop and train coaches. Meanwhile, golden player Manzoor Junior will also be part of the board.