Showbiz stars visit national hockey training camp

LAHORE: In what was a rarity for hockey in recent times, national players, training for the forthcoming World Cup at the National Hockey Stadium, were visited by the showbiz stars and quite a few of them.

The big names included singer, model, actor and producer Ali Zafar, veteran singer Waris Baig, popular Punjabi singer Malkoo and female singer Nirmal Roy, who has gained fame through Coke Studio. They all spoke separately to the players and lamented that Pakistan’s national game is not being given the patronage and recognition it deserves and even Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup, which starts later this month, is in doubt due to insufficient funds.

Renowned singer Ali Zafar met the national hockey team at the training camp here and extended some motivational words ahead of the World Cup. Zafar, who was there to support the sport, mingled with the players and later he talked about promoting hockey, which is also the national game of the country. “Hockey is our national game, I appeal to the government and other institution to support this sport in the country,” he said. Pakistan, the former world champions, were the giants of hockey world and now they are struggling to put up those same glorious shows at the international stage. He also proposed the idea of making biopics on the national sporting heroes. “We should make movies on our national heroes, hockey is being neglected for many years and we have to chalk out plans to revive the sport,” he stated.

Pakistan will participate in the hockey World Cup, which will take place in India from November 21. The showbiz luminaries spoke words of encouragement for the players and expressed hope that despite all the odds, Pakistan team will do well at the World Cup. They mingled with the players and also sang motivational lines from the popular national songs. The stars requested the federal and provincial governments as well as the private sector to give financial support to hockey on a priority basis, “After all Hockey is Pakistan’s national sport”.

Malkoo disclosed that he played hockey during his youth. Waris Baig told that he had made a song exclusively for the national hockey team sometime back. Waris Baig and Malkoo pledged to prepare a new song for the hockey team.

Pakistan team’s head coach, Taqueer Dar thanked the guests and presented bouquets to them. Ali Zafar, who was the last guest, was presented with a hockey stick and a Pakistan team shirt, both signed by the players and the management of Pakistan team which recently won the Asian Champions Trophy in Oman.

Players were delighted to see the stars among them, “their visit has boasted our morale and now we feel more motivated to perform well at the World Cup”.