National Junior Hockey Championship begins

LAHORE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab A, MPCL, Army A, WAPDA, Port Qasim and Sindh registered victories on the opening day of the 36th National Junior Hockey Championship here at National Hockey Stadium on Thursday.

KP defeated Army B 1-0, Punjab A beat Islamabad 5-0, MPCL beat AJK 17-0, Army A beat Punjab B 10-0, WAPDA beat Punjab D 12-1, Port Qasim beat Balochistan 6-2 and Sindh (B) beat Gilgit 15-0.

Punjab Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti inaugurated the championship.

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Brig (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, secretary Asif Bajwa, and chief selector Manzoor Junior were also present on this occasion.

While talking to media, Taimoor said: “The championship is a good opportunity for young players. The youngsters must avail themselves of this opportunity and remove the flaws of their game. Hockey is our national game and we are aware of its importance. It is true that Pakistan is passing through a struggling period but we are quite confident that Pakistan will overcome its slump in hockey in near future.

“We are planning to arrange interactive sessions of national hockey heroes with young boys at colleges and universities. These sessions will help a lot in inspiring young generation to play hockey,” he said.

He added that the provincial government was planning to introduce a league system in hockey in which the private sector would have a key role. “The involvement of the private sector will help a lot in resolving the financial issues of hockey players and federation,” Taimoor said.