The Olympic silver and bronze medallist's appointment came at a Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Executive Board meeting in Lahore and he admitted he has no time to waste in getting the country's athletes back on medal winning form from their current ninth place world ranking.

"Hockey is a result-oriented sport; we've lost supporters and fans because we keep losing at international events," Sheikh, who is due to serve in the head coach role for two years, said.

"Such is the state of affairs now that we failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in Pakistan's history.

"Now we have the Asian Games in September where we will be defending our title.

"I'm running out of time; starting from now, every minute counts."

Sheikh welcomed the move by current PHF President Akhtar Rasool and secretary Rana Mujahid to place hockey before everything else, but claimed his job will be "like starting from scratch" because of the unsatisfactory results during the former administration's time in office.

He also claimed part of the challenge is bringing the players' fitness levels and confidence up.

"I've told them that under my watch, every player in the camp will need to live, breath, and think hockey," Sheikh added.

"I'm here to deliver results."

Shahnaz Sheikh has promised to deliver results at Pakistan's new hockey head coach
©Getty Images


The PHF also announced that two-time Olympic medallist Islahuddin Siddique and Olympian Manzoorul Hassan had been appointed as chief selector and junior team manager respectively.

Asian Games champion Rehan Butt was named as Hassan's assistant junior coach along with Olympians Qamar Ibrahim, Kamran Ashraf, Muhammad Akhlaq and Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games athlete Mohammed Irfan, who will serve in the role until the 2016 Junior World Cup.

"I'm glad the PHF administration trusts me," Butt said.

"We won the Youth Asia Cup last year, and I've been working with the U17 players so I'm very hopeful about the future.

"At least there is consensus among senior Olympians now."

Islahuddin will be assisted by Olympians Ayaz Mahmood, Khalid Bashir and Arshad Ali Chuadhry, while Tahir Zaman has been named as the director of the PHF's coaching programme.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
January 2014: Pakistan hockey player Butt warns team might miss Olympics due to lack of funds
December 2013: Pakistan Hockey Federation calls on Government to ensure Asian Games participation
October 2013: IOC hold talks to try to find solution to Pakistan Olympic Association row
September 2013: Pakistan hockey players to miss Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
February 2013: Pakistan warned they face threat of Olympic suspension