LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Tahir Zaman was appointed as director high performance and development by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Thursday.

Tahir, who is a former Pakistan head coach, is the senior most high performance coach in Asia. Moreover, the 57-year-old is also a trainer and educator of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and its Level 6 coach.

A member of the 1994-World Cup winning team, Tahir was the head coach of the national team on its controversial tour of Australia for the 2025-26 FIH Pro Hockey League. The players levelled allegations against the PHF and the team management for failing to arrange proper accommodation for the touring party.

As a result, then PHF president Tariq Hussain Bugti resigned as the Tahir-led team management refused to continue their job after developing serious differences with the players.

However, the new PHF management under Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani has now hired Tahir in a new role.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2026