National hockey camp: Selection committee accused of nepotism

Hockey Association secretary demands inclusion of talented players

PESHAWAR: The Secretary for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Hockey Association Syed Zahir accused the selection committee of ignoring talented players of the province in the national camp.

Addressing a news conference at Qayyum Stadium on Thursday, Zahir said K-P hockey teams got runners-up trophies in three national level events. However, they were being ignored despite their remarkabale performance. “They deserve to be part of the national camp but were not short-listed.”

Shah said 66 players were short-listed after which 45 of them were chosen for the camp. “But K-P players were ignored despite their brilliant performance in national championships.”

He added teams of K-P Hockey Association were selected after scrutiny by a selection committee headed by Olympian Musaddiq Hussain, Olympian Naeem Akhtar, international player Ihsanullah Khan, Yasir Islam and Zia Binori before final announcement. Shah said Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) general council unanimously endorsed the decision of the selection committee.

He said while selection of players for the national camp has been done, members of K-P Hockey Association will request Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who is the patron of PHF to look into the matter if talented players were not included in
the camp.



The secretary said Inter-Club Hockey Championship in all districts of the province will be organised in October this year and action will be taken against district hockey associations that failed to assist in arrangements.

He added Inter-Regional Hockey Championship will be organised on November 5 in Abbottabad while Inter-District Hockey Championship Under-18 will be played on November 30 at Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2016.