National Junior C’ship to set future direction of Pak hockey: Asif Bajwa

KARACHI: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Asif Bajwa has said that the upcoming 36th National Junior Hockey Championship is part of the federation’s development programme for sport at the grass root level.

“The final of the championship will be held on December 8 and both departmental and provincial teams will be seen in action,” Bajwa said, while giving details of the tournament during a press conference in Lahore on Wednesday.

Olympian Manzoor Jr and Anjum Saeed were also present on the occasion. “Seven departmental and 12 provincial teams will take part in the tournament,” he said. “The teams have been selected on merit and utmost care has been taken to maintain balance between the sides.”

The 36th National Junior Hockey Championship will begin at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday (today). Bajwa said that the selectors will be looking out for talented young players during the championship.

“The national selection committee will assess the performance of young players during the tournament,” Bajwa said. “The championship is going to be vital for the future of Pakistan hockey,” he added.

Bajwa and chief selector Manzoor Jr had earlier conducted scrutiny of players’ data. The Players born on and after 1st January 1999 are eligible to participate in the championship. In order to keep the process of scrutiny transparent, special assistance was also sought from NADRA for verification of age and identification documents of the players.