ISLAMABAD – Pakistan will be opening its Men’s Champions Trophy campaignagainst arch-rivals India on Saturday at the Netherlands.
The 37th edition of the Men’s Champions Trophy will get underway in theDutch city of Breda, with De Bredase Hockey & Bandy Club playing host to anevent with a glorious past, said a press release issued here.
Six teams including Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Netherlands, India andPakistan are participating in the mega event.
The meeting between Pakistan, the nation that launched the Hockey ChampionsTrophy back in 1978, and India, the eight time Olympic champions, is afixture that is sure to draw thousands of spectators to the venue as wellas millions of fans tuning in from across the world, eagerly anticipatingthe latest episode of this long-running battle between two of the sport’smost successful nations.
The combination of outstanding teams and an event taking place in one ofthe world’s most fanatical hockey countries, there can be no doubt that theRabobank Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy promises to be a spectacular editionin Breda.
2014 Champions Trophy silver medallists Pakistan may have finished inseventh place at the XXI Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coastearlier this year, but that result hides the fact that they went throughthe event completely unbeaten.
Four draws in the pool phase against Wales, India, England and Malaysiarespectively, saw Pakistan finish fourth in their five-team pool, puttingthem in the 7-8 classification match where they defeated Canada 3-1.
The founding nation of the Champions Trophy will be determined to add tothe titles that they claimed in 1978, 1980 and 1994 victories that all cameon home soil, in Lahore (1978/1994) and Karachi (1980), respectively. Theteam is now coached by legendary Dutchman Roelant Oltmans, the man whoguided the Netherlands men to triumphs at the 1998 World Cup in Utrecht andat the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The squad selected by Oltmans contains a balance of experience and youth,with team captain Muhammad Rizwan Sr being one of eight players to havesurpassed the 100 international appearances barrier. Shafqat Rasool is themost capped player in the group with 190 senior international appearances,with ten players each having fewer than 50 caps. – APP