Oman: Egyptian named new national hockey coach 
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| International |
May 14, 2005 
Times of Oman, Oman
> Page Views 2499
Oman Hockey Association after a long-hauled deliberation has finally decided to appoint an Egyptian as the coach of the national hockey team.
This was revealed yesterday during a press briefing at the association, which was chaired by the OHA vice-president and chairman of the national teams committee Khalifa Obaid Al Salami. OHA officials Mustafa Malallah, Salim Al Masroori, Mohammed Bahlwan and others attended the news-breaking and well-attended conference.
Speaking at the conference, Khalifa Obaid touched upon all the details, which relates to the development and history of the game in Oman.
He said: “Mohiuddin Saad Al Zaglool, a highly qualified coach from Egypt, was finally picked for the national coach’s job, though there were many applications for the job from various countries.”
He said there were aspirants from Pakistan, Holland, Germany and Egypt and a good thought was put in to scrutinise the applications before coming to a conclusion.
“Ultimately, after research and lengthy discussions, we squared on two applicants —one from Pakistan and the other from Egypt. However, we found the Egyptian to be the best suited and qualified for the job,” said Khalifa Obaid. “We are indeed lucky that despite Mohiuddin being offered the national team coach job by his home country, he has decided to come out to Oman and prove his worth with a foreign team,” added Khalifa.
“We believe that things would be more cordial and ideal for the improvement of the national team’s standards with an Egyptian coach, who has all the top class credentials, than anyone else,” he opined, when queried, what made them think that the Egyptian was the best choice among the twelve.
Among the applicants there was an FIH master coach from Holland too. But Khalifa clarified that the OHA was convinced with FIH Grade I coach from Egypt. He also pointed out that money matters were not the criteria in selection. The Pakistani coach, who was pipped to the job by the Egyptian was Colonel Abdur Rauf Sanghu.
Mohiuddin’s qualification includes his achievements with club teams and national teams. He has been the 18-time winner of the Egyptian League since 1986 to 2003 and has also been the coach of the Egypt Cup winners in 1985, 1994 and 1997. Twelve time topper of the African Championship from 1989 to 2003 and he is also a recipient of the Medal of Honour from the President of Egypt.
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