London 2012 Olympian Umar Bhutta has been named captain of the Pakistan junior team that will compete in the Sultan of Johor Cup Invitational hockey tournament.
The competition takes place in the Malaysian city of Johor Bahru from 22-29 September, with teams using the event as a vital work-out ahead of the December's Junior World Cup in New Delhi, India. The 18-member squad was announced by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) during a training camp overseen by head coach Rana Mujahid Ali.
“The Johor Bahru tournament is an ideal chance for us to examine the real strength of our players before going to India for the [Junior] World Cup,” Mujahid said. “In Malaysia, our team will also face England and Argentina for the first time which will give them experience to test their muscles against these non-Asian teams.”
Full details about the Sultan of Johor Cup - which features Korea, Pakistan, England, India, Malaysia and Argentina - can be found on the official tournament website by clicking here.
Pakistan Squad - Sultan of Johor Cup
Mazhar Abbas, Amin Yousuf, Mohammad Khalid, Mohammad Umar Bhutta (captain), Syed Kashif Shah (vice-captain), Mohammad Faisal Qadir, Mohammad Rizwan Jr, Mohammad Tousiq, Mohammad Kashif Javed, Ammad Shakeel Butt, Zohaib Ashraf, Muhammad Umair, Mohammad Dilber, Ali Shan, Mohammad Suleman, Arslan Qadir, Ahmed Zubair, Ayub Ali.
Officials: Rana Mujahid Ali (head coach), Mohammad Danish Kaleem, Anjum Saeed (coaches), Mubashir Mohsin (doctor), Syed Abuzar Umrao (video analyst).
Source material: Sultan of Johor Cup website
