By Xinhua
Islamabad : The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) will order an inquiry into the Asia Cup debacle after the national team flopped in the 11-team tournament, The News reported Wednesday.
PHF will carry out a thorough post-mortem examination after the team returns later this week in order to find the reasons behind its poor performance recently, a top federation official told the daily.
The Pakistani team finished sixth in the Asia Cup after losing to China in the final classification match in Chennai Sunday.
“What happened in Chennai is unacceptable,” said PHF secretary Khalid Mehmood. “We will carry out an inquiry once the team returns because we have to find out why our boys are playing so badly.”
In order to prepare a strong squad for December’s Champions Trophy in Lahore and more importantly the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the PHF appointed new coaches earlier this year.
“I still cannot believe that we lost to Japan and China and finished sixth in Chennai,” former Olympian Hassan Sardar said. “I mean how can Pakistan, Asia’s number one side, finish behind teams like Japan, China and Malaysia.”
The Pakistani hockey team has won the Asia Cup three times and was considered a strong title contender along with South Korea and India.