Thank you Prime Minister for applying merit in game of hockey.

Thank you Prime Minister for applying merit in game of hockey.
……   Asghar Ali Mubarak ……..

Hockey is the national sport of Pakistan but it is in a state of disrepair due to lack of interest of the government and officials has been a victim of.

Thanks to the Prime Minister for applying merit in the game of hockey. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s hard work, efficiency and honesty are recognized worldwide, Shehbaz Sharif’s past is a witness. He believes in hard work, efficiency and merit .

The policy reflection can be seen in the field of sports. A few weeks ago, due to dirty politics in sports, there were two parallel hockey federations in the country, and it was feared that no Pakistani team would participate in the hockey event. But due to the intervention of the Prime Minister, a team was selected on merit and now the great performance is in front of the Pakistani nation

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced a reward of 10 lakh rupees for each player of the team while paying tribute to the national team for their excellent performance. Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the excellent performance of the national team and said that winning or losing is part of the game, the national team has won the hearts of the entire nation.

The Prime Minister reiterated that the government is taking all measures to promote sports, especially hockey in the country. In the Azlan Shah Cup, the national team made it to the finals, where they were defeated by Japan and Pakistan. The team won the silver medal. Late Mansoor Ahmed was remembered several times when Pakistani players failed to complete the penalty shootout

Late Mansoor Ahmed Olympian and hero of World Cup 1994 was my close friend, he was the best goalkeeper of his era, I am the lucky sports journalist who lifted the 1994 World Cup trophy with Mansoor Ahmed. The Prime Minister has invited the national hockey team for an early meeting at the Prime Minister’s House.

On the other hand, when the national hockey team which showed great performance in the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament reached Lahore, Chairman Prime Minister Youth Affairs Rana Mashhood welcomed the players while Olympians and government officials were also present to welcome the players. It may be remembered that Pakistan had qualified for the final of the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament after 13 years. The national team

remained undefeated in the finals, after a sensational contest in the finals, Japan beat Pakistan 1-4 on penalty shootout. The final of the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament was played between Pakistan and Japan in Ipoh, Malaysia.

After 13 years in the final of the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament, the Pakistani team did not start well and Japan took the lead by scoring the first goal. However, after that, the national team made a brilliant comeback in the match and tied the match thanks to Ijaz Ahmed’s goal.

In the third quarter of the match, the national team adopted an aggressive strategy and continued to attack Japan and the national hockey team got its reward when Abdul Rehman gave Pakistan a one-goal lead. Before the national team could win the match, Japan scored in the fourth quarter of the match to tie the final match.

The final match was decided on a penalty shootout in which Pakistan wasted their first two chances to score while Japan did not waste any of their chances and scored 4 goals in 4 shootouts while Pakistan missed 3 chances and scored only 1 goal.

Pakistan’s Liaqat Arshad and Rana Waheed Ashraf missed the chance to score a corner. The Pakistani team was unbeaten in the tournament prior to the final, winning three out of five matches and drawing two matches. Pakistan has previously won the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament title three times and last won the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament in 2003. Earlier in the third and fourth place match,

New Zealand defeated hosts Malaysia 2-3. Won a bronze medal. It should be remembered that a meeting was held in Islamabad on April 25, 2024 under the chairmanship of Chairman Prime Minister Youth Program Rana Mashhood on the instructions of Federation International Hockey on the issue of division in the Pakistan Hockey Federation. It was agreed to leave the decision to FIH, on the other hand FIH took notice of the issue of parallel hockey federation in Pakistan. A situational awareness letter was written by PHF to FIH. According to the text of the letter, FIH will support the PHF by adhering to the IOC Sports Governance Charter. The government of

Pakistan has a track record of not interfering in the affairs of sports federations. According to PHF, the Ministry of IPC had assured the IOC not to interfere in the affairs of sports federations. The FIH, taking notice of the matter, had instructed both factions to submit their stand and evidence by April 25. According to FIH, Tayeb Ikram was not involved in this matter on the basis of his connection with Pakistan.The FIH Senior Director also requested the Pakistan Olympic Association to find a solution with the Government of Pakistan.

So that Pakistani players can participate in international events. Remember that in the meeting held in Islamabad, the officials of both factions of Pakistan Hockey Federation participated.
According to Prime Minister Youth Program Chairman Rana Mashhood, “It was agreed in the meeting that the decision of which faction of Pakistan Hockey Federation to recognize should be left to FIH.”

After the meeting, Rana Mashhood said while talking to the journalists that “We will also be obliged to recognize whatever FIH recognizes in the light of documents and evidence by ending the division in the federation.”

Therefore, it was agreed to retain Dr. Shehla Raza Faction General Secretary Haider Hussain in this position temporarily for correspondence with international forums. The ongoing camps in Karachi and Islamabad were also dismantled. After taking the trial again in Islamabad, everyone agreed to set up a single camp in the federal capital.

According to the Secretary of Hockey Federation, FIP has no authority to interfere in the constitution of Pakistan Hockey Federation. Therefore, it was decided in the meeting that the Prime Minister will form an impartial committee and nominate the president of the federation

He had said that the FIA should investigate the funds that were embezzled and the committee should conduct a transparent scrutiny. Our number of members is 103 by whose votes the President is elected.

Other countries of the world are preparing for international competitions while here we are deciding how to unite the hockey federation formed to promote the sport.

The Pakistan Hockey Federation was split into two parts some time ago. One faction became President Shehla Raza and General Secretary Haider Hussain and started working from the Karachi office, while the other faction became President Tariq Bugti and General Secretary Rana Mujahid and settled in Hockey Federation Lahore office. Thus, one Hockey Federation was formed in Karachi and another in Lahore.

On behalf of PHF Karachi, Haider Hussain as Secretary wrote to President FIH and the whole matter was brought to his notice. The letter asked FIHIOC to support their hockey federation by following the Sports Governance Charter.

Apart from this, the letter also stated that there is no provision for parallel organization in IOC, FIH and PHF constitutions, FIH was informed that some elements are involved in parallel organization. .

The letter from the Government of Pakistan is on record not to interfere in the affairs of sports federations and the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination had assured the IOC not to interfere in the affairs of sports federations.
There is a desire to get positions instead of promoting hockey. They also believe in empowering young players rather than supporting them.

The nursery of the game which used to be at the level of schools, colleges and clubs is disappearing
Just like in cricket the players can see the future, in hockey it is not. Therefore, instead of wasting time playing hockey, they consider other sports or business as a means of advancement.

Just as we were once invincible in hockey, we no longer appear in the world rankings.
The hockey federation is divided into several sections and the players have no patronage, no facilities and no better training. Despite this, his performance is incredible.

They don’t see any improvement but their performance is surprising
The Azlan Shah Cup is the third major event of the World Hockey Federation. Pakistan team’s performance is good compared to B teams from other countries, as our ranking has dropped to 15th place.

The main reason for the destruction of hockey is the lack of money and prospects, this problem will not be solved without government attention. This achievement is huge, but to regain its lost position at the global level, seriousness has to be shown in providing jobs and facilities to boys.

At least the division of the Hockey Federation should be ended and a strong federation should be formed