US counsul General in Lahore, Nina Maria Fite has said that US Government will seek cooperation from Pakistan for boosting their women hockey which is a popular sport in America.
She was speaking at the inauguration of RukhsanaArshadWomenHockeyAcademy here on Tuesday at outer ground of National hockey stadium. Also present were Parveen Sikdandar Gill and Sahrish Ghumman ,President and Secretary of the academy and a number of former hockey Olympians including, Tahir Zaman, Rehan Butt,Danish Kaleem and Akhlaq Ahmad and Noreen John Sewrd from Ireland .
Nina said field hockey is a very sport among women in US and women folk take keen interest in this thrilling sport and they would be keen to have cooperation of Pakistan to further promote hockey.
“We will be inviting Pak female players and coaches to visit US to play hockey there and to impart training to our young players and through this process we would be able to further uplift hockey in our country,” she said.
She said US government was paying special attention to promote games among women by arranging healthy activities and there is wide scope to further popularise hockey among women as a lot of immigrants are residing there and have keen interest in hockey.
Nina who actively played hockey at 15-year of her age demonstrated some finer points of the game while playing hockey in an exhibition match which marked the opening of the academy.
“It was a fanstistic experience and I enjoyed it a lot but of course it is very tough to play hockey now,” she remarked.
Praising the setting up of hockey, she said it was a productive effort which will go a long way in promoting hockey among women in Lahore.
“It is an appreciable effort by Parveen Sikandar and Sahrish and I think they have put in a lot of hard work to turn this dream into reality,” she said.
She said this academy will help in engaging female in hockey focusing on improving their health besides helping them to become good hockey players with passage of time.
Benazir Bhutto Shaheed XI beat Fatima Jinnah XI 2-1 in the exhibition match in which top players of Lahore participated. Later she gave away souvenirs and prizes to the players and officials.
