Category: Hockey

BIRMINGHAM: National Hockey team faced a crushing in their second game of the Commonwealth campaign as New Zealand beat Pakistan by 4-1 in Pool A encounter of the Men’s Hockey event, here on Sunday.

After an intense first quarter, New Zealand’s Hugo Inglis steered his side towards a dominating position in the game as he scored two field goals in the second quarter before Pakistan’s Ghazanfar Ali netted the ball in the 27th minute to reduce the lead.

However, Dylan Thomas scored another field goal in the 44th minute to bolster the lead 3-1 in the third quarter.

Sam Lone then widen the lead for his side as he netted the ball in the final quarter with Pakistan failing to score even once in the last two quarters.

Earlier on Saturday, the national team ended on a 2-2 draw in their opening match of Commonwealth Games 2022.

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BIRMINGHAM: The captain of Pakistan Men’s Hockey Team Umar Bhutta backed the Green Shirts’ performance in their opening match of the Commonwealth Games against South Africa.

Bhutta, while talking to this reporter here backed Pakistan’s 2-2 draw against South Africa and stated that the national team did well as they did not lose points, while also claiming that the team will go with full strength in their match against New Zealand.

“The national hockey team played well against South Africa. The match ended in a draw so we did not lose points,” Bhutta said.

“We will go all-out in the second match against New Zealand and win the match to make it to the semi-finals,” he maintained.

National Hockey team’s head coach Siegfried Aikman, on the other hand, remained hopeful to overcome the mistakes made in the first match and take on New Zealand with lifted spirits.

“We will work on the mistakes made in the first match and give our best in the next game. Our dribbling is good but we couldn’t get the penalty corner so we need to work on that,” Aikman stated.

“Pakistani players have the hunger to score goals and they are a really good side,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Afraz Hakeem’s late strike in the closing moments of the game, allowed the Green Shirts to secure a 2-2 draw against South Africa. Rizwan Ali was the other scorer, who struck in the first quarter.

READ: Afraz strikes late, Pakistan secure draw against South Africa in CWG

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan Men’s Hockey team avoided an opening defeat at the Commonwealth Games 2022 as Afraz Hakeem’s late strike bolstered the side to hang on for a draw against South Africa.

Pakistan’s forward Afraz scored the match-saving goal for the Green Shirts, which helped the side to take a point and avoided an opening defeat to their Commonwealth Games campaign.

Earlier, South Africa pulled ahead in the first quarter as Connor Beauchamp struck for the Proteas from the short corner.

South Africa’s lead, however, remained brief as Rizwan Ali scored the first goal for the Green Shirts after 11 minutes to keep the match evenly poised.

The two teams walked out at half-time with the scores level at 1-1. The two teams then fought their hearts out in the third quarter but the scoreboard remained unmoved as both goalkeepers did well to neutralize the threat.

The Proteas then again led the proceedings as Matt Guise-Brown struck in the fourth quarter, only for Afraz to net a late score and prevented the Green Shirts from an opening defeat.

The national hockey team will now take on New Zealand on July 31 in their second match of the Commonwealth Games 2022.

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BIRMINGHAM: Two national Hockey players tested positive for COVID-19 amid the on-arrival testing of the Pakistan contingent that reached here to participate in the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2022.

As the Pakistan contingent landed in the country to compete in the forthcoming global event, two hockey players tested positive and have been sent to isolation.

According to the sources, the contracted players are Rana Abdul Waheed and goalkeeper Abdullah.

Besides COVID-19 testing, the doping control officer also conducted doping tests on two Pakistan hockey players and one national swimmer.

It is pertinent to mention here that the flag hoisting and opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games will take place on July 27 and 28 respectively.

National wrestler Inam Butt and captain of women’s cricket team Bismah Maroof will be the flag-bearers for the Pakistan contingent in the global event.

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KARACHI: Abdul Sattar Edhi International Hockey Stadium, which was announced to get its major renovation by the Government of Sindh in May, has sunk under loads of water after the fourth spell of monsoon poured into the city.

As the fourth and the strongest monsoon of the season hit the city on Sunday morning and the persistent rain for the entirety of the day, has resulted in flooding of the Abdul Sattar Hockey Stadium.

Rainwater has inundated the main areas of the structure, including the corridor and the main office. Following this, concerns have begun to raise that the flooding may cause the stadium’s decaying structure to collapse.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Government of Sindh, in collaboration with Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) awarded a contract to Frontier Works Organization (FWO) in May for the refurbishment of the dilapidated stadium.

Following the contract, details indicated that around 1.5 billion rupees will be spent on the rebuilding of the stadium, which will also include state-of-the-art indoor gymnasiums and swimming pools.

The boys’ hostel and changing rooms for up to four teams. Whereas, the installation of seats in the enclosure for the first time, was also a part of the plan.

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LAHORE: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa presented the winning team of the first COAS National Inter-Club Hockey Championship – Rana Zaheer Club – with a glittering trophy on Saturday.

Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was present as the special guest at the closing ceremony of the COAS Inter-Club hockey championship which concluded on Saturday as Rana Zaheer Club, Lahore, triumphed in a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Youth Hockey Club Malir, Karachi, in the final.

According to the details, Army Chief watched the thrilling final match between the two clubs before distributing the prizes among the players and also presented the trophy to the victorious team at the glittering closing ceremony.

The championship featured 10 clubs from across the country, which remained involved in exciting matches over a week-long period.

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LAHORE: Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) reinstated Brig (Retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar as President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) in the newly-appointed ad-hoc committee after sacking the previous setup earlier this month.

According to the notification issued by the PSB, a four-member ad-hoc committee has been appointed with the strict mandate to hold elections within 30 days besides running everyday affairs of the federation.

Olympians Nasir Ali, Rehan Butt and coach Arshad Mehmood have been named as the other three members of the committee while Khokhar will continue to hold the top position in a temporary setup.

Earlier, PSB de-notified PHF President Khokhar, secretary Asif Bajwa, and treasurer Muhammad Akhlaq for failing to hold elections upon completion of their constitutional term on May 14, 2022.

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LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) announced an 18-member squad for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, scheduled to commence later this month. 

After the conclusion of the trials here, the head coach of the national hockey side finalised the squad with the consideration of the PHF management. Whereas, Mohammad Umar Bhutta will lead the side in the global event.

Pakistan squad

Goalkeepers: Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan

Defenders: Mubashir Ali, Amad Shakeel Butt, Mohammad Hammad, Mohammad Abdullah, Rizwan Ali

Midfielders: Mohammad Umar Bhutta, Moin Shakeel, Abdul Mannan, Junaid Manzoor, Ghazanfar Ali

Attackers: Ajaz Ahmed, Rana Abdul Waheed, Rumman, Afraz, Abdul Hannan, Shahid, Ahmed Nadeem

The Green Shirts are placed in Group A, alongside Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Scotland, while India, England, Canada, Wales, and Ghana are in Pool B.

Pakistan Hockey team will start their Commonwealth Games campaign against South Africa on July 30 and will lock horns with New Zealand on July 31 before taking on Switzerland and Australia in their remaining fixtures.

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LAHORE: National cricketers including the likes of Shahid Afridi, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, and Fawad Alam have extended their support towards the newly-announced Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) franchise league The Max.

The first-ever franchise hockey league of the country, which was announced by the recently-removed president of PHF Khalid Sajjad Khokhar in a press conference on June 30, has received overwhelming support from the national cricketers, who took to Twitter to back the idea, while also terming it a ‘national duty’.

Former Pakistan captain and star all-rounder Afridi expressed his delight at the efforts being made to revitalise hockey through The Max.

“Great to see hockey’s revival with [The Max] league. We all need to commit and support our national game which has given us such glorious history!” Afridi tweeted.

Great to see hockey's revival with #TheMax league. We all need to commit and support our national game which has given us such glorious history! #MeriNationalDuty https://t.co/x21kN5EuHo

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) July 7, 2022

The ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy-winning captain Sarfaraz Ahmed also backed The Max’s announcement and said in his tweet that the franchise league would play a pivotal role in reviving the national sport.

“It gives me much joy to see our National Sport now being commercialized [through] a franchise league [The Max]. It will help in reviving hockey & will add strength to make this sport more sustainable,” Sarfaraz tweeted.

It gives me much joy to see our National Sport now being commercialized thru a franchise league @themaxpk . It will help in reviving hockey & will add strength to make this sports more sustainable. Congratulations @PHFOfficial#TheMax #PHF #MeriNationalDuty

— Sarfaraz Ahmed (@SarfarazA_54) July 5, 2022

The vice-captain of the national Test cricket team, Mohammad Rizwan, on the other hand, claimed in his tweet that as a player, he believes it is his national duty to play his part in the development of the national game.

“I wish [Pakistan Hockey Federation] all the best for [The Max] Pakistan premier hockey league. As a Pakistani sports person, I feel that playing a part in the progress of national sport is Meri National Duty,” Rizwan stated.

I wish @PHFOfficial all the best for #TheMax Pakistan premier hockey league. As a Pakistani sports person I feel that playing a part in the progress of national sport is #MeriNationalDuty. 🇵🇰 🏑 @themaxpk https://t.co/LSCHQgjRjj

— Muhammad Rizwan (@iMRizwanPak) July 4, 2022

Meanwhile, Test cricketer Fawad Alam also threw his weight behind the premier hockey league and lauded the initiative of PHF, while also terming it good news.

“Great news from [PHF] on the launch of [The Max]. Looking forward to see the glory back in hockey,” Fawad tweeted.

Great news from @phfofficial on the launch of #TheMax. Looking forward to see the glory back in hockey. #PakistanHockeyFederation #TheBlueDot pic.twitter.com/56XbFquRBc

— Fawad Alam (@iamfawadalam25) July 5, 2022

 

It is pertinent to mention here that the league will initially feature five teams including Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, and Islamabad.

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has removed Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, secretary Asif Bajwa, and treasurer Muhammad Akhlaq from their positions. 

The Director National Federation of PSB Syed Wahid issued the notification with the approval of DG Col (retd) Asif Zaman regarding the sacking of PHF officials.

According to the details, the PHF officials had completed their constitutional term on May 14, 2022, but could not hold elections, which led to PSB dismissing them.

It is important to note that PHF elections were held on May 15, 2018, which took place more than four years ago. President Khokhar, Secretary Shahbaz Ahmed Senior, and Treasurer Akhlaq were elected for four years in those elections.

In contrast, Asif Bajwa was proposed as the PHF secretary following Shahbaz Senior’s resignation in 2019.

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