LAHORE: Umar Bhutta has been named as captain of the national hockey team as the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Monday announced a 17-member squad along with six stand-by players for the Sultan Azlan Hockey Cup in Malaysia.
Pakistan are set to participate in the tournament, scheduled from November 1 to 10, for the first time after 9 years hiatus.
According to PHF, Bhutta-led national squad also comprised Abdullah Ishtiaq (Goalkeeper), Akmal Hussain (Goalkeeper), M. Abdullah, Sufyan, Arbaaz Ahmed, Aqeel, Ehtsham, Murtaza Yaqub, Rana Abdul Waheed, Rooman Khan, Hanan Shahid, Junaid Manzoor, Arshad Liaquat, Afraz, Shahzaib Khan, Usama Bashir, Mohammad Imran.
Meanwhile, Waqar, Abdullah Sheikh, Abuzar, M. Imad, Abdul Wahab and Saad Shafiq have been included in the stand-by players’ list.
It is pertinent that six teams will feature in the event including the hosts Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, South Africa and Egypt.
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LAHORE: Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) prohibited the national hockey team from participating in Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey as the board refused to grant the no-objection certificate (NOC) for the event.
According to the details, the federal government had established a standing committee under the presidency of Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif to look after the matters of national sports in the country.
The formation of the committee and until its decision regarding the hockey barred the PSB from issuing any NOC to a player or a team.
Consequently, the SPB refused to issue an NOC to the PHF for the national team’s participation in the upcoming Azlan Shah Hockey tournament.
It is pertinent to mention that the PHF received a formal invitation for this year’s event in June.
The national Hockey team, who last participated in the event back in 2013, has clinched the championship thrice in the past.
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LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey faced a significant blow ahead of Azlan Shah Hockey Cup as two of its experienced players, Ammad Butt and Mubashar Ali, tendered their resignations, leaving the national team in a deep crisis.
According to the details, the team’s vice-captain Ammad and defender Mubashar sent their resignations, copies of which are available to ARY News, to the Pakistan Hockey Federation, stating their inability to continue with the team due to ‘family commitments’ and ‘personal reasons’.
The resignations are attributed to serious fissures that emerged within the ranks of the national hockey team with both the players suddenly deciding not to play in the current set-up.
It is pertinent to mention here that a training camp for the senior hockey players will commence on September 25 at Abdul Sattar Hockey Stadium in Karachi, after which the national men’s hockey team will be formed.
Pakistan are set to participate in the Sultan Azlan Hockey Cup scheduled from November 1 to 10 in Malaysia.
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LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) cleared the debts of national players after six months, newly-elected president Khalid Sajjad Khokhar announced on Saturday.
The national hockey players received much-anticipated news as the federation cleared their daily allowance debts after a six-month-long delay.
The PHF deposited more than one and a half crore rupees to the accounts of more than 30 players, according to the details.
“The players were not paid their daily allowance for six months. Pakistan Hockey Federation has paid the dues of all the players,” said Khokhar.
It is pertinent to mention here that Khokhar was elected unopposed for a four-year term in the PHF elections held in August this year, along with Haider Hussain as secretary and Shahid Pervaiz Bhandara as finance secretary.
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LAHORE: Saeed Khan has been appointed as the manager of the national hockey team while Siegfried Aikman retained his coaching role as the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) announced the new team management on Sunday.
According to a press release issued by PHF, Ayaz Mehmood, Mohammad Usman Shaikh, Imran Butt and Mohammad Ali Khan will join the head coach Aikman in the coaching panel.
The statement added that PHF president Brig (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar approved the fresh appointments in the team management.
Abuzar Amrao and Rana Nasrullah have been named as video analyst and physical trainer, respectively.
Moreover, a training camp for the senior hockey players will commence on September 25 at Abdul Sattar Hockey Stadium in Karachi, after which the national men’s hockey team will be formed.
Pakistan are set to participate in the Sultan Azlan Hockey Cup scheduled from November 1 to 10 in Malaysia.
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LAHORE: Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) recognized the recently-held elections of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and also issued the Affiliation Letter for the four-year constitutional period.
Following the issuance of the Affiliation Letter by the POA, Brigadier (Rtd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar as President, Syed Haider Hussain as Secretary General, and Shahid Parvez Bhandara as Treasurer will be part of the unit affiliated with the POA.
According to the details, PHF Secretary General Haider met with POA Secretary General Khalid Mahmood in his office, where the two discussed the international hockey events in great detail.
The POA Secretary-General acknowledged Haider’s services to hockey in Karachi and wished him luck in his future endeavours for the national sport, while also promising the PHF’s continued support.
“You have rendered your services for hockey at the grassroots in the best manner. From formation of departmental teams in Karachi to re-formation of women’s hockey team.
The participation of 1100 children in the country’s first summer camp has brightened the future of Karachi Hockey,” POA Secretary General Khalid stated.
“I hope you will continue to play the same role in the development and promotion of the national sport. Pakistan Olympic Association will continue its full cooperation with PHF in this regard,” he maintained.
PHF Secretary General Haider thanked POA Secretary General and acknowledged that the POA has always supported PHF for the promotion of the national sport of hockey.
It is pertinent to mention here that Khokhar was elected unopposed for a four-year term in the PHF elections held in August this year, along with Haider Hussain as secretary and Shahid Pervaiz Bhandara as finance secretary.
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LAHORE: Pakistan’s former hockey captain and Olympian Manzoor Hussain popularly known as Manzoor junior passed away here at a private hospital on Monday following a cardiac arrest.
Manzoor, 64, was the captain of the Olympic champion national hockey team in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. He was also a part of the Pakistan team that won the bronze medal in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
Manzoor, who played in the forward position, was capped 175 times and had 86 goals to his credit. He represented the Green Shirts and played an instrumental role in its victory during the 1978 and 1982 hockey World Cups.
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KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president, Brig. (ret.) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar made a significant accusation against the former PHF Secretary Shahbaz Senior and accused him of corruption.
Khokhar, in a press conference here at Karachi Press Club after being re-elected unopposed as the president of PHF opened the pandora box as he alleged the former PHF secretary Shahbaz of corruption and claimed he would be handcuffed if the former opens the inquiry against him.
“I have the inquiry against Shahbaz Senior and if I open it today, he would be handcuffed,” said Khokhar.
The newly re-elected PHF President then questioned the calls for him to step down from the federation’s presidency and argued that the national team was performing better under his stewardship.
“For what should I take the responsibility when our team is fine?” Khokhar questioned. “When my tenure began, the [national] team was ranked 13th,” he maintained.
Khokhar also claimed that he had paid for the team’s participation at the Asian Games as well as his travel expenses, while also accusing former PHF office holders of corruption and promising to bring the offenders to justice.
“The corrupt individual steps down. I paid for the team’s tour to the Asian Games out of my own pocket. See how many trips I took over the course of five years and how much I paid for them all on my own,” he stated.
“If someone comes in accordance to my competency then I will leave. We will expose the corruption done by the previous secretaries,” he concluded.
It is pertinent to mention here that besides Khokhar’s re-election as the PHF President, Haider Hussain was elected as the secretary of PHF while Shahid Pervaiz Bhandara Finance secretary.
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LAHORE: Young hockey players held a protest against the scrutiny committee’s decision regarding the elections of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Wednesday.
The young hockey players demonstrated in front of the PHF offices here, chanting anti-PHF slogans and complaining that the new ad hoc system favours its favourites.
Former PHF President and Olympian Salman Akhtar Rasool, Ali Akhtar Rasool, Mujahid Afzal, and Muhammad Yaqoob also partook in the protest and alleged current PHF management for the misconduct.
“Pakistan Hockey Federation rewarded their favourite people. Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool, Akhtar Rasool, Afzal Muna, and Dar families have services for hockey,” Salman stated.
Another former hockey player Yaqoob on the other hand termed the suspension of the clubs by PHF an ‘arbitrariness’ while threatening to shut down the federation if their demands were not met.
“We disagree with PHF’s assertion that significant clubs were arbitrarily expelled. We will lock the federation if PHF refuses to grant us our right,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Mujahid made a major assertion that he was told to remove Asif Bajwa from the presidency of the federation and his denial resulted in the suspension of the Afzal Muna club.
“I was instructed to depose Asif Bajwa as president. Because of my rejection, the Afzal Mana Club’s vote was cancelled,” he asserted.
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LAHORE: The provincial Minister of Punjab for Youth Affairs, Sports, Archaeology and Tourism, Malik Taimoor Masood has denied the speculations surrounding social media regarding the removal of astroturf from the National Hockey Stadium for the rally of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
As a video of groundsmen scraping off the astroturf of the national hockey stadium went viral on social media on Thursday, speculations emerged that it was done in preparation for PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s August 13 gathering.
Following the propaganda, the Sports minister of Punjab Malik Taimoor clarified that the ‘shifting’ of the astroturf is part of the master planning and the national stadium will get the Federation International Hockey FIH-approved astroturf worth 15 million by December.
“First of all, I would like to make it clear that there is no such thing that the astroturf is being removed for the PTI Rally. We are just shifting it to Sargodha and it will be installed there. It is a part of our master planning and the tender for that will be approved in a couple of days,” Taimoor stated.
“The National Stadium will get the state-of-the-art astroturf in three to four months. This is one of the biggest stadiums in the world so, we are planning to install a technologically advanced astroturf here,” he maintained.
It is important to note that while the removal of astroturf was initially planned for March or April of this year, the PC-One was revised due to the spike in US Dollar exchange rates against the Pakistani Rupee.
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