KARACHI, 14 December — In a major development just weeks before next February’s World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, the Pakistani hockey bosses are considering the idea of bringing in a new management following a series of disappointing results by their team earlier this year.

Insiders in the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) have told this correspondent that the option to replace the national team’s management is being seriously discussed at the moment by hockey’s top hierarchy, which is not too happy with the team’s fourth position in the elite six-nation Champions Trophy in Rotterdam (Holland) last month.

The PHF officials are thinking about bringing in an International Hockey Federation (FIH) Grade I coach and a former Olympian as coaches in a brand new management to supervise Pakistan’s campaign in the 2002 World Cup to be played in Kuala Lumpur during February-March, accorind to PHF sources.

Tayyab Ikram, the only FIH Grade I coach from Pakistan, is said to be the man whom the PHF officials have singled out from a sizable list of contenders for the post of the senior national coach.

Together with Tayyab, the idea to appoint former Pakistan skipper Tahir Zaman as the second coach is also being given a lot of serious consideration by PHF officialdom. Tahir, who captained Pakistan till 1999 and still plays domestic hockey for a leading departmental side, was appointed as one of the junior team coaches last year but was replaced after his team’s miserable defeat in the Junior Asia Cup.

The idea is to bring in Tayyab and Tahir as replacements for former Olympian Hanif Khan and Khawaja Junaid who have been coaching the Pakistan’s team from the beginning of the year. Hanif and Khawaja were appointed by a three-member coaches’ panel a few weeks before this March’s Prime Minister Gold Cup in Dhaka along with former Pakistan skipper Shahbaz Ahmed.

Just weeks before Champions Trophy, Shahbaz was relieved of his duties as a coach becasue of his selection in the 18-member national squad for Rotterdam.

If Tayyab and Tahir are appointed by the PHF, then it will be the third time within a couple of years that the Pakistan team will have a new management.

Early in 2000, Islahuddin and Hanif Khan were appointed as manager and coach, respectively, but the latter resigned just before the Olympic Games in Sydney. He was replaced by Iftikhar Syed.

But Islah and Syed were also shown the door after Pakistan’s fourth position in the Olympiad as the PHF decided in favor of a three-member coaches panel that brought back Hanif in the fray along with Shahbaz and Junaid. While indications are strong that the PHF may go for yet another change, a top official has made it clear that nothing has has been decided so far.

“We are still weighing our options,” says PHF Secretary Brigadier Musarratullah Khan. “There may or may not be any change in the team management before the World Cup,” he added.

The PHF secretary admits that quite a few names were under consideration to be part of a fresh management if it is decided that the team needs new officials for the 16-nation World Cup.

Musarrat says that after having discussed the issue with everyone who is anyone in national hockey, he will take the case to PHF President General Aziz Khan within the next few days for a final decision.

The crucial meeting between the big two of PHF will take place in Lahore after which the fate of the current management will be delivered to them.

Pakistan are to begin their preparations for the World Cup — an event which they have won three times with the last title coming in 1994 — with a training camp that will get underway in Lahore by the end of this month.

Shahbaz favors 12-team

World Cup contest

Former Pakistan hockey skipper Shahbaz Ahmed is in favor of returning to a 12-team World Cup contest in the future saying such a competition is better for both players and spectators.

Shahbaz, the only player in history to win back-to-back World Cup player of the tournament awards, feels that the FIH should give up the idea of having the World Cup consisting of 16 teams.

“I personally believe that the World Cup should just be competed by 12 teams and not more,” says Shahbaz, the man who led Pakistan to a historic World Cup triumph in 1994 in Sydney, in an interview to Arab News on Sunday.

Pakistan will be one of the 16 teams who will be competing in the 2002 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur during February-March.

The participating teams in the prestigious competition will be divided into two groups after the FIH decided against going for a four pool format earlier this year. In the past the World Cup used to have just the 12 best teams from the international circuit.

The mercurial forward, who made a comeback to the national team after almost three years of international wilderness earlier this year, points out that the KL event will have some one-sided matches which may take some gloss out of the much-awaited tournament.

“When you will allow 16 teams to take part in the World then you are bound to have some sides which are simply not in the same league as others. That means you are bound to have some matches that will not be too appealing for the spectators and the TV audience.” Shahbaz also expressed these views when he represented Pakistan in the FIH meetings in Brussels last week. He attended the Athletes Commission meeting and also participated in the meeting of the FIH Event and Competition Committee.

“I said at that meeting that at the moment we don’t need to have more than 12 teams in the World Cup. We should first wait for other teams to be good enough before letting them join the tournament.” Shahbaz also underlines the affects of a long World Cup on the participating players.

“A bigger World Cup means more matches and that means more days. As a player I know its very difficult to concentrate and remain focussed for too many days at a stretch. This is why I would like to suggest that the FIH should go back to the 12-team format in future World Cups.” Shahbaz says that most of the players and even some of the officials in Brussels were in favour of a smaller World Cup.