‘National team will return from India as winner’: Pak hockey team departs for World Cup

LAHORE: National hockey team departed for India on Saturday morning to take part in hockey World Cup Tournament. Punjab Sports Minister Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti expressed his hope that national hockey team will return from hockey World Cup in India as winner. The entire nation is praying for the success of national hockey team in the grand hockey World Cup tournament; he said this while addressing a dinner ceremony arranged by Sports Board Punjab in honour of national hockey team at State of the Art Punjab Int’l Swimming Complex on Friday night.

Director General Sports Punjab Nadeem Sarwar, Director Sports Hafeez Bhatti and Deputy Director Shahid Nizami were also present on this occasion. Renowned singer Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan also attended the dinner ceremony. National hockey team departed for India on Saturday morning to take part in World Cup. Taimoor Khan and Nadeem Sarwar warmly received the national hockey team upon reaching Punjab International Swimming Complex.

Addressing the dinner ceremony, Punjab Sports Minister Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said that national hockey team has enough talent to win coveted World Cup title on Indian soil.

“Our team has done wonderful preparation under the supervision of two hockey stalwarts manager Hasan Sardar and head coach Tauqeer Dar for the grand tournament and we are quite hopeful that our team won’t disappoint the nation and return from India as world champions,” he added. Bhatti said Pakistan has had glorious past in hockey but our national game has been experiencing a downfall for the last couple of decades. “The way our boys did hard work at training camp, we can expect that Pakistan will regain its lost glory in near future,” he opined.

Bhatti informed that Punjab govt is laying astro-turf in different cities. “These turfs will help Pakistan getting several new talented hockey players in future and ultimately our national hockey team will be strengthened,” he asserted. Sarwar, in his address said that national hockey team is comprised of talented players. “Our players are taking part in the world cup with patriotic spirit and we are quite confident Pakistan hockey team will emerge victorious in the mega hockey event,” he added.

Sarwar said he visited national hockey camp twice and found Pakistan players with full of spirit. “Sports Board Punjab has always extended every type of assistance for the revival of hockey in the country. We will continue this practice in future as well,” he opined. National hockey team Manager Olympian Hasan Sardar and head coach Olympian Tauqeer Dar, on this occasion expressed their determination to win the world title in India. “Our players are quite upbeat to perform well in world cup”.

“Sports Board Punjab under the directives of DG Sports Punjab Nadeem Sarwar provided top class facilities during our training camp. As a result of these facilities our players managed to get top standard training for the high-profile hockey tournament,” they maintained.