In U-turn, OHA decides to send national team to Doha 

(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Reversing its earlier decision of pulling out from the Asian Champions Trophy, the Oman Hockey Association on Wednesday decided to send the sultanate team to Doha, Qatar, for the tournament that will be played from December 20-27.Muscat Daily had reported on Tuesday that the newlyelected OHA board had decided not to send the national side to Doha because the players weren't prepared well enough for the event in which top Asian nations will participate, like India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan and China.Pulling out of the competition could have resulted in the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) possibly slapping a suspension on Oman. On Friday, two days after deciding not to pull out, the OHA's general secretary, Mohammed Redha al Touqi, said, ''I received calls from the AHF and the Qatar Hockey Federation (QHF). Both requested us to reconsider our decision [to pull out].The QHF has spent a lot on the tournament's publicity. It took a lot of effort for me to convince the OHA's board members that we should co-operate and participate in the tournament. ''Though our preparations are not good enough and we are not ready to compete against strong opponents, we are not worried about the results. We will participate.'' Last month, Oman finished a lowly third in Round 1 of the FIH World Hockey League in Doha.Meanwhile, the OHA has turned to Oman's former coach K K Poonacha, who is currently in charge of Ahli- Sidab club, to guide the national team at the Asian Champions Trophy. The former India international is expected to join the camp on Saturday.