Nine-a-side night hockey event from August 5

KARACHI: Pakistan’s first-ever nine-a-side hockey championship will be held in Karachi from August 5 to 14 at Abdul Sattar Stadium, ‘The News’ learnt on Sunday.

A very large amount of money will be on offer at the championship.

PHF officials said that only departmental teams would participate in the event. The officials said that PIA was playing an instrumental role in organising the tournament. The matches would be held under floodlights, they added.

The faster pace of the game would enthrall the spectators, they claimed.

The floodlights had not been functional for 15 years due to which no night matches were played, but now this issue has been resolved with installation of 114 new white bulbs.

More than 1200 seats have also been replaced or repaired, the officials said.

The officials said that two generators would be used to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the tournament.

The PHF secretary Shahbaz Ahmed said that handsome amount of money would be offered. He, however, declined to reveal the amount.

He said that PHF was making all efforts to increase the prize money of the event in order to persuade hockey players that this game could provide fame and livelihood to them.

The director general commercial of PHF also said that all the matches of event would be telecast live.

He said that the event would not only popularise night hockey in the country but would also eradicate the notion that the game of hockey could not attract sponsors.

He said the teams participating included Army, Air Force, Navy, PIA, Customs, WAPDA and SSGC.

Meanwhile, PHF’s director general development Olympian Naveed Alam said the national women hockey championship would be held in Islamabad from August 5.

He said that all units of PHF women wing had been informed that this year’s women national hockey championship would be held in Islamabad where all facilities are easily available.