Poland hockey team to tour Pakistan in April

ISLAMABAD: The Poland hockey team will tour Pakistan in April to play matches against the national squads at different venues of the country.

Speaking after the PHF Congress Meeting held here at a local hotel, PHF president Brig (r) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar along with secretary Shahbaz Ahmad Sr said PHF will constitute four development squads for the matches to be played against Poland team.

“Each development squad will play against Poland team on a different venue,” he said.

He said the Asian Hockey Federation has allotted a Hockey Five Tournament to Pakistan for which the dates will be announced later.

“International hockey is reviving in the country and Pakistan has become a safe nation for all sports activities,” he said.

Khokhar said Pakistan Navy will help in laying an astro-turf here at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium. “PHF has also allocated 20 percent quota for women in the federation,” he said and added that Tanzeela Amir has been appointed as PHF general manager.

He said PHF has no conflict with anyone and federation’s doors are open for everybody who wanted to work for the betterment of the game.

Responding to a question, he said the inquiry report on the team’s poor performance in the last year’s World Cup, is yet to come.

Khokhar said Pakistan has no fear for not qualifying for 2020 Olympics. “We have also summoned PHF exertive board meeting next month,” he said.

However, some of the congress members were not allowed in the meeting and they also briefed the media on the issues they think were hindering in the development of the game.

Olympians Manzoor Junior, Naveed Alam, Khawaja Junaid, Khalid Bashir and Zahid Mehmood urged PHF patron-in-chief and Federal Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) to look into the federation’s affairs as all is not well.

“How can the PHF secretary send invitations for the PHF’s congress meeting when he had resigned months earlier,” they questioned.

Terming their group of likeminded Olympians as the Pakistan Olympic Forum, they said they would be holding protests from next month on each and every hockey platform and would not give up until and unless they save hockey.

“We will be staging a sit-in in front of PHF office, Lahore after March 23,” they said.