Butt in after hockey u-turn
Former captain allowed to take part in national event despite being over 30.
LAHORE:
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has made a u-turn on its policy of not considering players over 30 for the national championship as it allowed former captain Rehan Butt to represent Wapda.
Butt confirmed that the PHF has given a green signal to his participation in the National Hockey Championship after the selectors requested the federation to allow him to play in the event as they wanted to judge his form and fitness ahead of the Olympics.
“I’ve been included among the probables for the Olympics and the selectors felt that I should be given a chance to show my form and fitness,” Butt told The Express Tribune. “I haven’t played for the national team for a while now so they wanted to look at my performance before announcing the squad. I was given a chance to play in the championship because of my performance in the NBP Gold Cup. I’ve been training hard and am looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
A PHF official confirmed that Butt has been allowed to participate in the championship and a notice confirming the development will be issued soon.
Meanwhile, another former captain Zeeshan Ashraf, who is not part of the squad, lashed out at the policy.
“It’s beyond my understanding,” said Ashraf. “Everyone should be given a chance. The likes of Mohammad Saqlain, Adnan Maqsood, Muddassar Ali Khan and several others can’t participate in the event and we’ll soon finalise a strategy to challenge this policy.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2012.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has made a u-turn on its policy of not considering players over 30 for the national championship as it allowed former captain Rehan Butt to represent Wapda.
Butt confirmed that the PHF has given a green signal to his participation in the National Hockey Championship after the selectors requested the federation to allow him to play in the event as they wanted to judge his form and fitness ahead of the Olympics.
“I’ve been included among the probables for the Olympics and the selectors felt that I should be given a chance to show my form and fitness,” Butt told The Express Tribune. “I haven’t played for the national team for a while now so they wanted to look at my performance before announcing the squad. I was given a chance to play in the championship because of my performance in the NBP Gold Cup. I’ve been training hard and am looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
A PHF official confirmed that Butt has been allowed to participate in the championship and a notice confirming the development will be issued soon.
Meanwhile, another former captain Zeeshan Ashraf, who is not part of the squad, lashed out at the policy.
“It’s beyond my understanding,” said Ashraf. “Everyone should be given a chance. The likes of Mohammad Saqlain, Adnan Maqsood, Muddassar Ali Khan and several others can’t participate in the event and we’ll soon finalise a strategy to challenge this policy.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2012.