30th Under-19 Junior National Hockey Championship in Pakistan concludes – Hockey Update
Matiullah Hockey Ground in Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur saw the Under-19 Junior National Hockey Championship trophy final match which Customs won 5-4 with a tremendous performance over National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on March 8.
Muhammad Adnan, Kamran Asif and Muhammad Ali Bhatti scored three penalty corner goals as Mohsin Sabir played brilliantly to score two goals in the 24th minute for Customs. Khurram Shahzad scored a tremendous goal as Bilal Qadir, Ayub Ali and Ali
Hassan scored goals from penalty corners for NBP.
NBP got the silver as Customs played superbly to score a goal in the final minutes with the score at 4-all to grab the gold medal.
An exciting match-up between Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Southern Sui Gas Company (SSGC) took place for the third or bronze spot with SSGC winning 4-2. M. Zahid, Zohaib Ashraf, Syed Kashif Shah and Arslan Sherazi each scored a goal
for SSGC.
Customs beat WAPDA by one goal as NBP defeated SSGC 3-2 to advance into the finals. The final was hard fought as Customs managed to overpower NBP with a difference of one goal to lift the U-19 Champions Trophy.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is promoting the junior divisions regionally to help them find players to compete in the National squad during international events. With many senior players now retiring or just not competitive anymore, the PHF is looking
to organise many junior competitions throughout the country to identify the new and upcoming players that have the skills and talent to compete at a higher level.
With more tournaments and regional competitions, the PHF is creating a good healthy competitive atmosphere to cultivate new enthusiasm to field hockey. Although the sport does not get the big television sponsorship deals like cricket, these tournaments are
drawing many around the country and with it possible financial and coverage benefits.
It will be interesting to see the talent pool which is being created in the junior division of hockey around the country. The PHF will now have a good idea of the type of talent that can be found through these regional tournaments. Many young players are
now beginning to participate as hockey is starting to gain some popularity again within the country.
Only time will tell if the new strategy by the PHF to hold junior tournaments will benefit them in the long run. The National squad is in need of new young players that can inject some enthusiasm and excitement into the team. However, the PHF is on the right
track as they try to cultivate the youth and identify as many young talented players that may have a decent future in hockey at the National level.
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