LAHORE – Secretary, Pakistan Hockey Federation Asif Bajwa said on Tuesday the schedule of the proposed Pak-India hockey series will be finalised with the mutual understanding of both the hockey bodies. “We are in touch with the Hockey India for the revival of the bilateral series and hopefully all the necessary modalities in this regard will be sorted out in due course,” he told APP here. Asif Bajwa said the series is likely to be played later this year or early next year and both the hockey bodies are sincerely working on it to finalise the dates and venues. He termed the revival of bilateral hockey a step forward in strengthening the cause of hockey in sub-continent.
“Through this hockey series we can do a lot more to better our hockey and both the nations can learn from the experience of each other to further progress in the game at the international level,” said Bajwa. Bajwa pointed out that Pakistan and India were once known as the super powers of hockey but now they were struggling to regain their glittering past and if they play each other on a regular basis, they can better their sagging fortunes in the game.
“Both the teams are rich in natural talent and players have inbuilt hockey techniques, which distinguishes them from other hockey nations and their interaction in the hockey fields on regular basis can bring back the lost glory to this region,” he maintained. He said he was expecting to have further discussions on the series on the sidelines of Asian Hockey Federation’s meeting during the Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, being played in Malaysia next month.
To a question, he said the training camp of the national team for the Azlan Shah Cup was in progress and participation in Azlan Shah was the first step towards launching preparations for next year’s London Olympics. “We are achieving our targets gradually and we hope that our efforts will help Pakistan to emerge as a force to reckon with in the international hockey scene,” said Bajwa.
