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At a time when foreign teams and sports persons have shunned travelling to Pakistan, Francisco Hernandez Roldan is busy working with a bunch of boxers, trying to make them champions at the international level. Roldan is from Cuba, a country with a long tradition of boxing. So when he talks everyone listens.
"One of my boxers, Mohammad Waseem (in the 49kg category) is our best hope. There are one or two more who can cause upsets," he said. Roldan has been with the team for less than a year and is contracted till the Asian Games. He may not have had enough time to work with the boxers but he is not complaining. "There are problems. But as a foreigner I have not faced any issues. Every country has problems but nothing that affects me," he said.
This is a view shared by Gholam Reza Moazzen, the wrestling coach with Pakistan here. Moazzen is an Iranian and is in his second stint with the team. He was with the team earlier at the SAF Games before going back home for surgery. "I am based in Islamabad and I have faced no problems. Absolutely none," he said. "I have not been to other parts, not because I am scared or anything but because we train in Islamabad only," Moazzen added. The coach, however, admits that he finds it difficult to gauge the team's strengths and weaknesses because of lack of exposure.
These two are not the only foreigners working with Pakistan teams. Pakistan hockey has Dutchman Michel van den Heuvel as a coach. During the World Cup held at the Dhyan Chand Stadium, New Delhi, he coached The Netherlands, which won the bronze. "When they called me (to become Pakistan coach) I decided to have a feel of the country. When I came, initially it felt like a jail in Lahore. But now I have got used to it. I see no security problems," he had said soon after his appointment in June.
Pakistan hockey captain Zeeshan Ashraf was optimistic. "We have prepared well. We have worked hard under the new coach."
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