Inaugural match at Ayub Park synthetic turf today

KARACHI: A new synthetic blue hockey turf has been laid at Ayub Park in Rawalpindi. It will be inaugurated with a match between Pakistan Whites and Pakistan Green on Friday (today), ‘The News’ learnt on Thursday.

Both teams comprise Pakistan’s senior and junior players and some who play for Mari Petroleum, which established its hockey team one and a half years ago. The head coach of national junior hockey team Danish Kaleem, chairman national selection committee Olympian Manzoor Junior and other leading hockey personalities will be present on the occasion.

The turf has been laid by Mari Petroleum. It was imported from the Netherlands for its team’s practice and matches.

Mari Petroleum’s senior and junior teams participated in the national senior and junior championships.

Sources said that after the match the junior players would join the national training camp in Lahore on Saturday (tomorrow).

There are now three synthetic turfs in the city. The other two are at Army stadium and Shahnaz Sheikh academy. And the country now has around one dozen synthetic turfs. The sources said that stands for spectators would be developed at Ayub Park in near future.