Friday 26 / April / 2024
Muscat: The much awaited three-match hockey series between Oman national squad and the visiting Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) team from Pakistan has found a sponsor in the form of Muscat Beach Trading.
The Sultanate’s national team are currently undergoing a domestic training camp under the watchful eyes of Indian head coach K.K. Poonacha as part of their preparations for the forthcoming FIH Hockey World League Round 2 competition in Bangladesh.
At the start of the camp, the Oman Hockey Association (OHA) had revealed their plans to arrange for three practice matches for the national team against WAPDA.
Chief organisers of the series Aslam Nawab and Syed Aftab Gilani, who had previously organised an exhibition match between Oman national team and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in August 2016, said they are ready to welcome the star studded WAPDA team and hoped the series will be a great success.
The three matches are scheduled to be played on January 21, 23 and 25 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
According to the organisers, the WAPDA team boasts of as many as seven current Pakistani international players, including national team captain Farid Ahmed.
Left-half Waseem Ahmed, Pakistan’s most capped player and a former national captain, will also be a star attraction during the series.
The other Pakistani stars who will be arriving with the WAPDA team are Mohammed Imran, Mohammed Irfan, Tasawar Abbas, Ajaz Ahmed, Mohammed Khalid, Umair Sarfraz, Amin Yousuf and Asif Michael.
Four of those players Mohammed Imran (Dhofar Club), Mohammad Irfan (Salalah Club), Tasawar Abbas (Seeb Club) and Ajaz Ahmed (Seeb Club) have played in the 2016 His Majesty’s Cup Hockey Championship.
Poonacha had, meanwhile, called up 34 probables for the current training camp, which is being held at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
The FIH Hockey World League Round 2 competition will take place in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka from March 4 to 12.
In Dhaka, a total of eight teams will be vying for two direct places into the semifinals. Besides Oman and hosts Bangladesh, the other teams that will be in action are Canada, Egypt, China, Fiji, Ghana and Sri Lanka.
Oman probables: Gassan Al Ghareeb (goalkeeper), Aiman Abdullah Al Katheri, Hammad Salim Al Fazari, Salah Nasir Al Saadi, Abdullah Hamood Al Alawi, Khalid Juma Al Shuaibi, Ashraf Talib Al Nasri, Ammar Juma Al Shuaibi (all from Ahli-Sidab), Ahmed Sabil Al Balushi, Mohammed Amin Said, Younis Ghabish Al Nofali, Ahmed Said Al Noufali, Basim Khatir Rajab, Mohammed Hubais Al Shar, Sami Awadh Said Al Loun, Wail Hassan Sanjoor, Shahab Nahadh Abdulrasool, Fahad Khamis Al Nofli, Anwar Khamis Al Nofli (all from Al Nasr), Shafi Talib Ramadhan (Dhofar), Said Rashid Al Hasni (goalkeeper), Mahmood Salim Al Hosni, Motasim Abdulrehman, Marwan Abdulrahman, Qasim Moosa, Mohammed Hassan Al Lawati (all from Seeb), Mahdi Al Atabi (goalkeeper, Sohar), Omer Salim Al Nofli (Saham), Mohammed Abdullah Matooq (Salalah), Amjad Abdullah Al Hosni, Khalid Mubarak Al Batashi, Mohanna Nasir Al Hosni, Immad Ayad Al Hosni and Ali Hammad Al Hosni (all from Bausher).
WAPDA delegation: Saghir Ahmed, Mirza Waheed Baig, Mohammed Usman, Abdul Saeed, Waseem Ahmed, Mohammed Khalid, Adnan Aslam, Mohammed Imran, Amin Yousaf, Ghazanfar Ali, Mohammed Nadeem, Adnan Babar, Mohammed Qasim, Sohail Anjum, Zohaib Ashraf, Mohammed Irfan, Fareed Ahmed, Ajaz Ahmed, Umair Sarfraz, Tasawar Abbas, Khizar Akhtar and Asif Michael.
