Tag: Pakistan Hockey

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.

READ: Khalid Sajjad Khokhar re-elected unopposed as President PHF

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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BIRMINGHAM: Australia outpowered Pakistan in a one-sided show to force the national hockey team out of the Commonwealth Games 2022, here on Thursday.

Australia completely dominated the Green Shirts in the last encounter of pool A, raining goals on them to dash any hopes left of Pakistan’s qualification for the next round of the Games’ hockey event.

Pakistan, on the other hand, remained completely clueless in the face of Australia’s powerful attack and were unable to find the nets even once throughout the game.

Blake Govers scored the opening goal in the 12th minute to give Australia a 1-0 lead whereas, Jeremy Hayward scored another goal in the 19th minute to double the lead before halftime.

Hayward added another in the third quarter with a low-drag flick while Tom Wickham found the nets for the first time in the 42nd minute to take the game out of Pakistan’s reach before the final quarter.

Wickham then scored his second just two minutes into the fourth quarter before Jacob Anderson and Nathan Ephraums completed the rout.

With the thumping 7-0 win, Australia sits at top of pool A and will now face England in the semifinals on August 6.

Meanwhile, Pakistan will now compete against Canada for the seventh position on the same day.

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BIRMINGHAM: National Hockey team achieved their first win in the Commonwealth Games journey as they defeated Scotland 3-2 in the Pool A match of the men’s hockey event, creating a ray of hope to qualify for the semifinals. 

Rooman netted the ball just six minutes before the final whistle to steer the green shirts to victory, before Afraz Hussain and Abdul Shahid contributed with a goal each.

Scotland dominated the first quarter of the game as they earned their first penalty in the 10th minute. Robert Field was quick to react to play the ball across the area after Jamie Golden’s shot was saved, and Cammy Golden volleyed the ball into the nets to score the opening goal.

The Scots well-coordinated defence effectively neutralized Pakistan’s strong response in the remainder of the quarter.

However, in the second quarter, Pakistan attacked with more vigorous efforts and levelled the lead after 22 minutes when Afraz beat Tommy Alexander with an unstoppable shot on the turn and the goalkeeper was helpless to stop it.

Within a minute Shahid netted the ball to make it 2-1 and put his side in lead at half-time.

Struan Walker scored the equaliser in the 38th minute after both teams exchanged a flurry of attack and defence moves in the thrilling second half.

Scotland started the final quarter with a new zeal and showed fabulous attack skills however Pakistan blocked their efforts to keep the score 2-2.

However, Rooman retaliated in the 55th minute when he received a pass into the D and his shot went off the crossbar and over the goal line to make it 3-2.

With the win, Pakistan are now ranked fourth with four points in pool A with  South Africa sitting in second and New Zealand in third with the same number of points.

Pakistan will now take on pool leader Australia in their final game on August 4.

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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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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: 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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