Hockey removed from National Games roster

PHF rejects move; games showing promise are being preferred, says organisers.

KARACHI: The National Games organisers have removed hockey, Pakistan’s national sport, from the list of sporting events to be hosted in the National Games which are scheduled to be held in Peshawar this winter.

After getting approval from the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), organisers reduced the list of disciplines from 27 to 18 in the men’s category and from 13 to seven in the women’s events.

Other than hockey, football, cycling, basketball and badminton were also axed from the games that will be held from December 25 to 31. These Games have already been rescheduled thrice due to security reasons.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Olympic Association (K-POA) President Syed Aaqil Shah said that the decision was taken by the POA committee which included representatives from all competing units.”The decision was mutual and was consented to by all the representatives of the participating units,” he said.

Shah, also the patron of event’s organising committee, while playing down the impression that the decision had been made because organisers were struggling to host the mega event — told The Express Tribune that, the K-POA was not incompetent or weak and that it could host as many as 40 disciplines if it wanted.

In the meantime, a POA official said that the games in which Pakistan had been performing well were being preferred in the upcoming event.

“Do you expect us to remove wrestling ­— which won gold in Commonwealth Games — instead of hockey where we have been failing consistently?” he questioned. “The games which are showing promise are being preferred.”

The Pakistan Hockey Federation protests

The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has reacted strongly to the decision. PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa has said that the federation will not accept this decision.

“Removing the national sport from the National Games is a joke, the decision has been taken for no reason,” said Bajwa.

“If the Khyber-Pakhtun-khwa organisers are not comfortable with hosting the National Games then they should transfer the event to some other province.”

The secretary has said that he will request the Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani — also the PHF’s patron-in-chief — to ask the organisers to retain hockey.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2010.