We will not apologise: Olympians

Former greats refuse to back down despite PHF's legal notice.


Express January 06, 2012

KARACHI/LAHORE: The row between the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) and Olympians is far from being settled as the former greats have refused to apologise to the federation for questioning their tactics, policies and blaming them of human trafficking.

Seven out of 13 Olympians, who were served legal notices  worth Rs500 million each by the federation, met on the second consecutive day in Karachi, before former captain and manager Islahuddin Siddiqui confirmed they will not be backing down.

Islah added that the matter of human trafficking was blown out of proportion and that the charge will be dealt with in court, before confirming that 'it was currently being probed in Senate'.

"The PHF's actions against us are meant to distract people from the team's failure in the Champions Trophy. The federation hasn't even mentioned our recommendations on bringing improvements for the Olympics, which was the main part of the letter."

Shahnaz Sheikh, Qamar Zia, Qamar Zaman and Naveed Alam were among the Olympians who attended the meeting. However, the absence of other former players, including Shahbaz Ahmed, who were also  slapped with notices, raised eyebrows.

The Olympian denied reports of a rift within the group and said the reply on the legal notices will be given within the stipulated time. "We are hopeful that all of us will give similar replies in our individual responses," said Islah.

Zia eyes POA presidency

Meanwhile, PHF President Qasim Zia has confirmed that he will be taking part in the elections for the president of the Pakistan Olympic Association, taking the total number of candidates to four.

"I have served the PHF for three years and now I want to serve other sports in Pakistan," said Zia.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2012.

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