Hockey federation offers to hold event

PHF asks sports authorities to reconsider sport’s omission in a bid to restore hockey at the National Games.

KARACHI: In a bid to restore hockey at the National Games, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has asked the sports authorities to reconsider their decision regarding the national sport’s omission from the event.

Hockey was among several disciplines, including football and badminton, that faced the axe as the number of disciplines were reduced by the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) Special Olympic Committee.

“We’ve written to the POA and the sports board and have protested the decision and asked them to reconsider it,” Bajwa told The Express Tribune. “The decision is totally unacceptable. How can someone remove the national sport from an event being played under the banner of national games.”

A top POA official confirmed that the decision to axe hockey was taken due to security risks during the event which has already been postponed thrice.

“We’re not completely satisfied with the security arrangements because of which the committee decided to remove the outdoor events,” said the official. “Majority of the sports that faced the axe fall under this category.”

Bajwa offered to organise the event if the organisers were not comfortable holding it.“The PHF can organise the event and we’ve asked the POA to let us hold the competition at the National Games. Hockey can be transferred to some other city in the same way as some women events.”

POA to consider suggestion

The POA Chairman Arif Hasan will look into the suggestion of transferring the hockey event to some other city. “It’s not impossible and we’d consider a move to some other city,” said Hasan. “We’ll ask all stakeholders to discuss the matter and hopefully things would be cleared in a couple of weeks.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2010.