National hockey championship shifted to Karachi

KARACHI: The 65th national hockey championship will be held in Karachi from April 20, and those talented young players who could not make place in the participating departmental and regional teams will play in a team named development squad by the PHF, ‘The News’ has learnt.

The PHF has changed the venue of the national championship, which was earlier scheduled in Lahore. PHF secretary Shahbaz Ahmed said that the championship is being organised in Karachi because of better weather conditions in April.

He said that PHF wanted emerging players who are under 24 and have not been picked by departments and regions to get a chance. Therefore, it has been decided that PHF would facilitate them by establishing a development squad. PHF did not want the talented players to be deprived of chance to play in this big event, he added.

About the FIH executive board meeting in Switzerland, the PHF secretary said that majority of FIH executive board members supported Pakistan in the meeting. They also did not want Pakistan to be banned. Pakistan could face a ban because of its pullout from Pro League one month ago.

Shahbaz said that he informed the executive board members that Pakistan hockey was passing through a difficult time and that banning it would be catastrophic for the game in the country.

He said that Pakistan had a great record in hockey, having won four world cups and three Olympics and several other international events. He further said that the final verdict in this regard was likely to be taken next month. He said that Poland’s hockey team did not visit Pakistan because they had received the invitation for Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Malaysia.