Olympian Shahnaz Shaikh to coach Pak hockey team

Karachi: In a bid to pull Pakistan out of their recent slump, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has appointed Olympian Shahnaz Shaikh as the senior teams` coach.

Pakistan failed to qualify for the World Cup to be held in the Netherlands in June -- a humiliating first for the four-time former champions. Pakistan have also won three Olympic gold medals but fell to seventh position in the 2012 London Olympics. They were 12th and last in the 2010 World Cup in India. Shaikh, who has had two unsuccessful stints as coach, said his first target would be to defend the Asian Games title which Pakistan won in China in 2010. "I am here to do my best to revive Pakistan hockey and my first target will be to defend the Asian title in South Korea in September," Shaikh was quoted as saying by the media here. Meanwhile, former Pak skipper Manzoor Ahmed will coach the junior team after they finished ninth out of 12 teams in the Junior World Cup held in India last year.