Category: Hockey

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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LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has appointed the Olympian Kaleemullah as the chief selector of the national men’s hockey team.

Secretary PHF Asif Bajwa interacted with the media here on Wednesday and announced the appointment of the Olympian as the national team’s chief selector after the approval from the federation president Khalid Sajjad Khokhar.

The PHF also named the management of the national junior side as the Olympian Manzoor Hussain Jr. will be serving as the manager. Olympians Kashif Jawad and Waqas Sharif serve as assistant coaches under head coach Rehan Butt.

The PHF Secretary Asif further announced that further appointments within the federation will be made after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games.

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) announced to hold the first-ever Hockey league by the title of “The Max”, later this year.

In a press conference here, the PHF president Khalid Sajjad Khokhar announced the first-ever league, while the national men’s team captain Umar Bhatta was also present.

Speaking on the occasion, the PHF president Khokhar expressed gratitude for announcing the league and termed it a milestone for the PHF.

“It is a milestone for the PHF,” Khokhar told the media. “We have worked really hard for this day to announce our league. I am proud to announce it finally,” he said.

Khalid further shared that the league may face difficulties to attract foreign players in the beginning but expressed hope that they will soon begin to participate in the league.

“We might face difficult in dealing with foreign players in beginning but with time, we are hopeful of attracting them,” Khalid stated.

“This league is very important for the development of Pakistan Hockey and it is a milestone for us,” he added.

The PHF president then disclosed that the management team had been expanded with the help of open bidding. The managing team also includes Salman Sarwar Butt, the first director of PSL.

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 Secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Asif Bajwa termed the incident of fielding 12 players against Japan in the Hockey Asia Cup 2022 a ‘human error’, whereas, announced that the inquiry committee is investigating the matter.

Asif, while talking to the media here opined on the costly error by national team in the Asia Cup, which prevented their qualification into the next round, by terming it to be a ‘human error’.

“An issue came up from the Asia Cup of fielding 12 players in a match and the head coach has also taken the responsibility of that blunder, since he is the one who decides when and which player will go on the field,” Asif stated.

“I, personally, think that it was a human error, while the inquiry committee is investigating the matter,” he maintained.

The PHF secretary also announced that the national team’s manager Khawaja Junaid will not be continuing with his position in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games 2022 as the latter expressed his desire to work as a technocrat.

“Khawaja Junaid has done a great job, he has been a great manager but he will not be continuing as the manager for the Commonwealth Games,” Asif announced.

“We have allowed Junaid to resign from his position as he is willing to work as a technocrat,” he added.

Junaid, on the other hand, asserted Asif and confirmed that he had previously apologized to continue as the manager as he claimed to have vast experience working in the field.

“I have the experience of working on the ground and I want to continue to work with relevance to my experience. I had already told the federation before the Asia Cup that I can’t work as a manager,” Junaid stated.

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has announced the second phase of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Hockey Championship, which will take place at the provincial level from June 28 to July 5.

The provincial championship, according to PHF, will be hosted at provincial headquarters and will feature the champion clubs of the first phase, which was held earlier at the regional level.

Teams will be shortlisted for the final phase of the COAS Hockey Championship after the conclusion of the second phase.

Four teams from Punjab, two from each Sindh and KP, and one from each Balochistan and Northern Areas will be qualified for the final stage.

Meanwhile, the victorious clubs of the inter-club regional championship are set to lock horns in each province as well as Islamabad for the forthcoming tournament.

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