PHF Secretary Bajwa hands in resignation

Protesting Olympians demand removal of entire federation.

KARACHI: Nearly two weeks after the greenshirts failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Asif Bajwa resigned amid calls of overhaul in the body’s setup.

Another Olympian Rana Mujahid, who was serving as the Associate Secretary, has been promoted to fill the vacant position.

Bajwa, who served as Secretary for around five years, handed his resignation to PHF President Qasim Zia at the PHF’s Executive Board meeting in Lahore yesterday.

“Under an article of the PHF constitution, the PHF Executive Board unanimously elected Rana Mujahid as Secretary,” said a PHF official. “He will remain till the fresh election for the next term 2014-18.”

Pakistan failure’s to qualify for the global event for the first time sparked widespread protest from Olympians who are calling for a complete overhaul in the PHF’s setup.

However, Bajwa appeared satisfied and hoped for a bright future for the Pakistan team. “I am satisfied with the progress,” he said. “It is because of PHF’s efforts that promising youngsters are coming. I did my job with sincerity and I feel honoured with the team’s achievements during my tenure.”

Pakistan’s bronze medal at the Champions Trophy after eight years and a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games are among the laurels the team won under the former Olympian’s tenure. The team’s bottom finish at the 2010 World Cup in India and its failure to qualify for the next edition can be counted as the biggest failures during the last five years.

Meanwhile, Mujahid said he will have a detailed meeting with the PHF president to outline a plan. “The decision whether I will remain with the junior team will also be made,” said the former player, who is scheduled to travel with Pakistan’s junior team as manager and head coach for an international event in Malaysia later this month.

The executive board has decided to start the election process (club, district, provincial and national levels) from October 25 onwards.

More changes in PHF likely

An official close to PHF’s executive board said Zia’s resignation was likely to follow Bajwa’s decision. Akhtar Rasool, currently the team’s manager-cum-head coach, may become the next PHF president because of his connections with the ruling party.

“Qasim [Zia] may also resign to pave way for Rasool,” said the official. The official added that Bajwa might get the position of Director General of the Pakistan Sports Board.

Protesting Olympians remain unsatisfied

Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh defined Bajwa’s resignation as a calculated move by the PHF. “Only Bajwa wasn’t responsible,” said the former player.

“We want the entire PHF setup to be removed because they all failed. Our demand for an ad-hoc setup remains as we cannot trust the election under the current setup.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th, 2013.

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