Buoyed up by their team's title-winning triumph in the
Asian Games in Guangzhou (China) last November, Pakistan have set their sights
on bigger targets and want to at least finish among the top-three in the 2010
Olympiad.
Pakistan has won three Olympic gold medals but has failed
to win the coveted crown since their memorable triumph in the 1984 Games in Los
Angeles. In fact they have returned home empty-handed from the last four
Olympics.
Though Pakistan has won individual Olympic medals in
wrestling and boxing - both bronze - they now have realistic hopes of winning a
medal in London just in hockey.
Even in hockey, Pakistan's national game, it would take a
gigantic effort from the Greenshirts to finish on the podium in London as
currently they lag far behind hockey powerhouses like Australia, Germany,
Netherlands and Spain.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) says it's ready to carry
out such a gigantic task.
"Pakistan hockey has been struggling for almost 20
years but we believe that its time for things to change," Asif Bajwa, the
PHF secretary, told Arab News.
"We have put ourselves on the road to revival by
winning the Asian Games title and are now setting our sights on doing well in
the 2010 Olympics and the World Cup to be played in 2014," added Bajwa, a
former Olympian.
According to Bajwa, the PHF is working on lining up
around 40-50 international matches, mostly against top-flight teams for
Pakistan in the lead up to the Olympic Games.
The plan includes a tour of Egypt, ground-breaking home
games, a hectic sojourn of Europe, the Champions Trophy and a trip to Australia
this year followed by a lengthy tour of England in 2012.
"We'll start our build up for the Olympics soon by
sending our team to Egypt," said Bajwa. "It will be followed by
hectic assignments both at home and abroad which we believe will help us in
raising a balanced team for the Olympics," he added.
Bajwa said that Pakistan wants to have a pool of 25
world-class players by the end of this year. "We want to have 25 very able
and well-trained players so that we can pick a solid Olympic team from that
pool."
But PHF's plans can face a few hurdles.
Michel van den Heuvel, Pakistan's Dutch coach, remains
uncertain about continuing his stint with the national team because of security
concerns.
He masterminded Pakistan's successful campaign in
Guangzhou after which the PHF decided to retain him as the national coach at
least till the London Olympics.
There have been reports that the Dutchman is concerned
about his safety in Pakistan and might not complete his tenure as the country's
hockey coach.
However, Bajwa is confident that Van den Heuvel will
carry on as the national coach. "Our coach has a few concerns but the PHF
will address them which is why I'm hopeful that he will supervise our Olympic
preparations," he stressed.
