Olympian Kamran Ashraf named organiser

Nishan-e-Haider Nine-a-Side Hockey Tournament

KARACHI: Olympian Kamran Ashraf has been named organiser of Nine-a-Side Nishan-e-Haider hockey tournament which will be staged here at the Abdul Sattar Edhi Hockey Stadium from October 4-11, ‘The News’ has learnt.

Olympian Qamar Ibrahim has been appointed as the event’s director.Kamran Ashraf when contacted said that preparations for the event were in full swing and the remaining tasks will be completed on time.

He said that Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) had already announced the names of the players who will be part of the 11 participating teams of the event. “The process for visa and travelling documents of foreign goalkeepers has been completed and the players will reach Pakistan from Dubai on October 3,” he said.

Kamran said that arrangements for their accommodation and boarding were in the final stages.It will be for the very first time in the history of Pakistan’s sports that eleven foreign goalkeepers will feature at domestic level in any discipline.  

He said that all the matches would be telecast live on PTV. “Matches can also be watched on the PHF’s website,” he added.The PHF has recently revamped its website.

Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah will likely be the chief guest at the opening ceremony. Two matches will be played on the opening day. Each match will be of fifty minutes.

The participating teams will be named after the brave soldiers who laid down their lives for Pakistan and were bestowed with the country’s most prestigious military award Nishan-e-Haider.

Mohsin Ali Khan will be the Umpire manager of the event. The itinerary and other details of the tournament will be announced in a few days. The PHF’s top hierarchy, including its president Brig (rtd) Khalid Khokar and secretary Shahbaz Senior, will be present at the event.