By Muhammad Asif Khan
On the other hand, while
dismissing Akbar’s observations, Shahid Ali Khan said that with this very technique
he had produced quality Goal-keepers over the years, which includes Salman
Akbar as well. On Salman Akbar’s performance in the training camp, Shahid Ali
Khan minced no words in terming it below-par. He also admitted that he was not
in favour of calling him (Salman) from Holland .
“In comparison with Imran Shah
and Imran Butt, the performance of Salman Akbar in the training camp was
ordinary. Before the mega event, performance of both Imran Shah and Imran Butt was
good, and dropping one of them to accommodate Salman Akbar would have been
unjust.” said Shahid Ali Khan, while talking to this correspondent.
“I was actually not in favour of
calling Salman Akbar from Holland ,
but the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) wanted to give him (Salman) a chance
to prove his metal. Also, even if I was in his favour then the selection
committee wouldn’t have picked him because they were not impressed too.” added
Shahid Ali Khan.
“With Imran Shah, Pakistan
finished 7th, but I feel, if Salman Akbar was there then we probably
would have finished last”, said Shahid Ali Khan, who played 135 matches for
Pakistan and was considered as one of the best goalkeepers in the game.
Terming the team’s performance as
satisfactory during the London Olympics, he said that Pakistan played
well above the expectations. “Only two games were bad, and that too were
against the top ranking teams. Because of the performance we also qualified for
the Champions Trophy. The overall performance was satisfactory”, concludes
Shahid Ali Khan.
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