Pakistan’s hockey coach, Siegfried Aikman, has been unable to join the national training camp as he hasn’t been able to get a visa to travel to the country for the past two weeks.
The national team’s training camp for the preparation of the upcoming Commonwealth Games has been underway for over a week without the head coach. Pakistan commence their Commonwealth Games campaign on 30 July with their first match scheduled to be played against South Africa.
Siegfried shared his grievances on Twitter as he stated that he does not know when he will be able to join the team due to unnecessary visa delays.
Not yet still no visa. I really don’t know when I will be able to join the team
— siegfried Aikman (@SiggyAikman) June 22, 2022
Moreover, Pakistan hockey’s Australian physical fitness trainer, Daniel Barry, was also not present in the national team’s ongoing strength and conditioning physical fitness camp in the military academy Abbotabad. According to reports, Barry had already missed a major chunk of the training camp as Pakistan Hockey Federation did not make prior arrangements for him to travel to Abbotabad.
In the latest development, the PHF has made arrangements for Barry to travel from Lahore via private bus service to join the national team training camp in Abbotabad.
The situation perfectly reflects the dire situation of the national sport in the country. Pakistan, once regarded as the best hockey team in the world, is now languishing at the 17th spot in World Hockey Rankings and with such atrocious management of the PHF, it is difficult to see the national team progressing.
Via LoveWithockey/Twitter
