Hockey 5 C’ship to have glitz, colours and handsome prize money

KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Brig (retd) Khalid Khokhar has said that the Hockey-5 Championship would be held in a befitting manner and handsome prize money would be offered to the successful team.

The PHF will organise Pakistan’s first Hockey-5 Championship in Lahore during the first week of Ramadan. The matches will be played under floodlights.

Talking to ‘The News’  Khokhar said that the colourful event would attract hockey lovers with its interesting and fast-paced format.

He added that handsome prize money would be on offer in various categories. The championship will also be telecast live on TV.

In this format, each team comprises five players. There are two halves of 20 minutes each. The playing field is shorter with players permitted to score from any part of the field.

The PHF is planning to use this event as part of its training programme for the junior hockey team, which is preparing for the Junior World Cup 2016, to be played in India this year.

Meanwhile, Olympian Ahmed Alam will return to the country in a couple of days and it is expected that the PHF will use his services to train the goalkeepers. Pakistan’s junior and senior outfits have suffered heavily due to poor goalkeeping in recent times.

The PHF is also planning to establish an academy for goalkeepers but its coaching staff has not yet been decided.