LAHORE : Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said the successful holding of First Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Division Hockey Championship 2021 could prove to be the first step towards the revival of hockey in the country; he expressed these views while talking to media at the prize distribution ceremony of First Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Division Hockey Championship 2021 at National Hockey Stadium on Tuesday.
Faisalabad thrashed Lahore by a big margin of 4-0 in the final match to grab the title of First Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Division Hockey Championship 2021. Bahawalpur finished third after defeating Sargodha team in a nail-biter by a narrow margin of 1-0.
Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs RaiTaimoor Khan Bhatti, Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab FuadHashimRabbani, Director General Sports Punjab Adnan ArshadAulakh and PHF Secretary AsifBajwa, PHF Chief Selector Manzoor Junior, Head coach of national hockey team Olympian KhJunaid, RanaMujahid, Umpires’ Manager Rashid Butt were also given souvenirs at the prize distribution ceremony.
In his media talk, Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs RaiTaimoor Khan Bhatti expressed his hope that Pakistan will regain lost hockey glory. He congratulated the victorious Faisalabad hockey team and encouraged the rest of the teams to improve their game for the future tournaments.
Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs RaiTaimoor Khan Bhatti announced plans to organize the Inter-Division Women Hockey Championship in the coming days. “We are organizing regular hockey events to provide much needed playing opportunities to our talented male and female hockey players. We are also planning to involve the corporate sector in our future sports events”.
Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs RaiTaimoor Khan Bhatti said that around 200 players of nine divisions of the province demonstrated their talent during the championship. “We will pick up 40 top performers from all participating teams for further training. These 40 players will be imparted one-month top level training under the coaching of top trainers”, he added.
Elaborating further, Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs RaiTaimoor Khan Bhatti said that 25 best players will be shortlisted from these 40 camp trainees. Our qualified coaches will further polish their skills so that these young talented players could serve the national team in the future international hockey competitions”.
Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs RaiTaimoor Khan Bhatti said: “We are quite hopeful to build strong bench strength for the national team after the completion of First Quaid-e-Azam Inter-Division Hockey Championship”.
Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs RaiTaimoor Khan Bhatti announced his plans to lay astro-turfs in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur stadiums in near future. “A Sports Endowment Fund is also being established under the revolutionary Sports Policy for the welfare of national sports heroes, champions and legends. Scholarships will be given to top athletes and the financial issues of the sports community will also be resolved through this fund.
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