Junior events, Asian games our priorities this year: PHF president

KARACHI: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President, Brig. (rtd) Khalid Sajjad Khokar, has said that PHF is solely focused on organising domestic hockey and national teams' participation in international events.

Among the international event, the Junior Asia Hockey Cup, Asian Games and Junior Hockey World Cup are our priorities, he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Taking a position in the World Junior Hockey Cup is among the priorities, while the Asian Games is an Olympic qualifier event.

Secretary General PHF Haider Hussain has been given the task of making arrangements for the preparation of international events, he said.

He said that under the domestic hockey development vision, steps are being taken to increase the number of events across the country.

He said that the Pakistan Hockey Federation wants Pakistan to get a position in the Junior Asia Hockey Cup, which is the Junior World Cup qualifier event. In this regard, open trials will be organised across the country in which the registered players of Pakistan Hockey Federation and its affiliated units will be able to participate.

The open trials for the National Hockey Training Camp will be held in two phases.

In the first phase, open trials will be held in Abdul Sattar Edhi Hockey Stadium, Karachi, in which players from Balochistan and Sindh will be eligible to participate, while in the second phase, trials are being held in Lahore, in which players from KPK, Punjab, and Islamabad will be eligible. A training camp is also being organised for the preparation of the Asian Games.