Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh witnessed Punjab’s Under-16 hockey trials at National Hockey Stadium on Wednesday.
Sports Board Punjab in collaboration with Punjab Hockey Association conducted the trials for picking Punjab’s four U-16 hockey teams for the forthcoming National U-16 Hockey Championship scheduled to be played at Peshawar from Nov 28 to Dec 10, 2020.
Chairman PHF Selection Committee Olympian Manzoor Junior, head coach of national hockey team Olympian Khawaja Junaid, Secretary Punjab Hockey Association Lt-Col (retd) Asif Naz Khokhar, Zaheer Ahmed Babar, Abdur Rasheed, Yaqoob and other officials received Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh upon reaching National Hockey Stadium.
Talking on this occasion, Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh said over 300 young players participated in the trials. “Punjab’s four U-16 hockey teams will be selected purely on merit and the talented players will also be given scholarships,” he added.
Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh expressed his hope that Punjab players will show excellent performance in the forthcoming National U-16 Hockey Championship in Peshawar. “National U-16 Hockey Championship is definitely a suitable platform for young players to demonstrate their talent”.
Regarding the promotion of hockey, Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh said as many as 25 astro-turfs have been laid in major cities of the province for the growth of hockey. “We are making collective efforts with PHF for the revival of hockey. Sports Board Punjab (SBP) is also going to organize historic Lahore Hockey League 2020 with the collaboration of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) in December this year to trace fresh hockey talent,” he explained.