Sahrish Ghumman, a former international hockey player, has been successfully running Pakistan’s first and finest private hockey academy for women since 2013. Her own playing career is not the one to be sniffed at. She represented Pakistan from 2008-2012 and also captained the national team. She also holds a master’s degree in Mass Communication.

"I was doing a Pakistan Army short service commission course and was on my way to join the forces in the rank of captain. Unfortunately, my mother passed away in 2009 and I had to return to Lahore to look after my younger sister.

"I harboured a desire to do something that would keep my mother’s name alive. I initially thought about hospital, school or some vocational training institution. But a close friend came out with the idea of a women hockey academy. ‘If established, the academy would not only reflect daughterly love but also enable you to remain engaged with the passion for hockey’.

"The idea appealed to me. The initial stages required a lot of effort."

It took some time before the dream got materialised. Ms Nina Maria Fite, the then US Consul General in Lahore, formally inaugurated the Rukhsana Arshad Women Hockey Academy (RAWHA) on March 26, 2013.

"To select the players, we visited colleges, schools whose teams had been participating in the local tournaments. The principals and headmistresses were motivated to bring the girls with potential. Around 200 were selected initially. The number was reduced. The girls were dropped because of ill discipline, lack of commitment to training or lack of talent. The number came down to 60. Some of the discarded girls were disappointed as they desired to play and learn the game. Hence, we decided to send our coaches to their schools, colleges to train them, at least for some time."

The number of girls in the RAWHA has remained around 60 all this time. They are provided pick and drop service, hockey stick, shoes, balls and refreshments.

But it goes beyond that.

"A large number of girls come from humble backgrounds. They are given monthly stipends. In some instances, even monthly rations. For outstation girls who don’t have a place to live in Lahore, the academy has hired a big house in Lahore. Again, the food is provided by RAWHA."

Since there is a lack of qualified women coaches in Pakistan, the academy had to look for males.

"RAWHA required gentlemen who were not only able trainers but also suitable to work with girls in conformity with our cultural norms. I consider myself lucky that the three coaches, working with RAWHA since its inception, Haider Rasool, Waquas Butt and Nadeem Iqbal have proved to be the perfect choice. Haider, a former national camp attendee, has been Pakistan’s most reputed international hockey umpire for a decade while Waquas Butt has been engaged as the goalkeeping coach by Pakistan’s national teams. I myself have done PHF’s level 1 coaching course and was one of the coaches of the victorious WAPDA women team at the recent national championships. I also do some coaching at the academy, mainly junior girls."

The girls have been training at the synthetic turf of National Hockey Stadium, Lahore, all these years.

"The National Hockey Stadium is available for only four days a week. Then the camps of various national teams as well as tournaments are held there which also affects girls’ training. Recently, the academy has been provided with a good grassy ground at the Government Employees Cooperative Housing Society in Township. It has even been named RAWHA ground. Training has been started there as well. Now, half of the girls play at each of the two facilities. They are shifted after every two weeks so all get experience of the synthetic turf. Over the weekends, all practise at Township".

The academy has begun a programme for their general grooming as well.

"The Township ground has a room where we recently started classes in which they are taught English language, how to dress up, public speaking, among other things."

Such a big venture requires a lot of resources in financial terms.

"During the nascent phase, it was the support from the extended family. Gradually, the corporate sponsorship arrived. Presently, Coca Cola are the major sponsors: they provide kits, sticks, balls, goalkeeping kits and shoes. Then there are others such as Bata who supply 60 joggers every year. The family patronage still continues. Many of my close relations are settled abroad and they extend help in the form of donations. A marketing wing has also been established."

No training could be a substitute for competition.

"Matches are arranged against teams of local educational institutions. RAWHA also participates in local tournaments as well as in events outside Lahore. Last year, the team travelled to Khairpur and won the Bakht Ali Dahoot memorial tournament. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah was the chief guest. When he came to know about RAWHA and its cause, he announced a special grant of Rs two lacs."

RAWHA also has foreign experience, having toured the UAE.

"This February, our team visited the UAE where four matches were played against Sharjah’s Skyline College University team. A tour of Malaysia is also in the pipeline."

The yardstick to measure the success of an academy is the quality of its products.

"In 2015, within two years of academy’s inception, the country’s top departmental sides as well as the Punjab teams began recruiting our girls, and the number is increasing all the time. All the top six teams at the 2016 nationals, WAPDA, Railways, Army, Punjab Colours & Whites and HEC included at least six RAWHA girls. Here, it is pertinent to mention that once the girls graduate to the departmental sides, we replace them with new talent, mostly from schools.

"The ultimate aim is of course to see my girls winning national selection, and many of them have done the academy proud. The Pakistan team playing at the AHF Cup in Thailand currently includes three girls: Zaibunnisa, Sahil Malik and the highly promising Hina Pervaiz."

The RAWHA success story is fascinating as well as inspiring.