Shakeel Abbasi has been appointed captain on a temporary basis with Imran set to resume his duties after recovery. PHOTO: AFP

AUCKLAND: Pakistan Hockey team captain, Mohammad Imran said getting the 7th place in Champions trophy hockey tournament after beating South Korea 5-4 is a face saving result as Pakistan avoided the humiliation to finish at the lowest eight place. “At least we have some consolation to take the seventh place and scoring our second win , no matter it was again against Korea,” he told APP after the match here on Sunday. He said a defeat could have left the Pak team at the bottom of the event which could have been most unfortunate.
“I am not defending the performance of the team in the tournament, we did not play to a higher level and lost to European teams as well world number one Australia and there is no point to say that we have blended into a good combination which can beat any team in the world,” he said.
Imran said playing Korea in the classification match was a tough challenge after score was leveled at three stages of the play at 1-1,2-2 and finally at 4-4 .
“ We were not anticipating that Korean will lock the score at 4-4 and little choice was left for us in the match which we won in the extra time.”
Pak captain said critics back home are furious at the performance of the team and they are not realizing the fact that the team is going through the rebuilding process which is quite important to prepare for next year’s Olympics.
“At any stage I did not say that we will be doing wonders in the Champions trophy as we entered the event underdogs due to our world wide low number nine ranking and targeting the team at this stage is not fair,” he said adding “People should know the fact that young players are a part of the team and they (players) should be encouraged for doing better and harsh criticism will serve no purpose but will demoralize their morale.”
He urged the former Olympians to come forward to give suggestions for the betterment of the team as it was Pakistan’s team which needs their guidance.
Imran said Koreans presented their best game and added to Pakistan teams worries by scoring two goals in the second play and it was the most dangerous stage of the match as Pakistan could have lost it.
“I praise the fight back of my players and their performance in today’s match and I am confident that our participation in the Champions trophy will boost the confidence of players for their preparations for Olympics.
Teams coach, Khawaja Mohammad Junaid said he was delighted that team won its last match of the event to beat Korea twice in the champions trophy.
“It was good result which helped us to warp up the event on a good note though we finished at 7th place,” he said.
The team official said Pakistan participation in the mega event was very vital as it helped the players to face off with worlds best players and to learn the finer points of the game. (APP)