Lahore, Bahawalpur bag boys and girls U-16 Inter-Division ‘Lahore Lahore Aye’ Festival Hockey titles respectively

Lahore division boys’ hockey team thrashed Multan team by 5-0 to clinch U-16 Inter-Division ‘Lahore Lahore Aye’ Festival Hockey Championship title at the Mini National Hockey Stadium on Monday. M Yaseen scored two goals while M Adeel, Yahya Ali and Abu Sufyan netted one goal each for the champion team.
The third position of U-16 boys’ hockey was clinched by Faisalabad which outplayed Bahawalpur by 3-1.
It is worth mentioning that Sports Board Punjab is holding U-16 Inter-Division Hockey Championship as part of ‘Lahore Lahore Aye’ Festival on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail was the chief guest at the closing ceremony of U-16 Inter-Division Hockey Championship.
Director Sports Yasmeen Akhtar, Divisional Sports Officer Lahore Rana Nadeem Anjum, Divisional Sports Officer Bahawalpur Amir Hameed, Divisional Sports Officer Sahiwal Rauf Bajwa, Deputy Director Sports Chand Parveen, Tehsil Sports Officer Nasir Malik, provincial coaches Razia Malik, Zarina Waqar and Shaista Qaiser and other senior officials were also present on this occasion.
Besides them, PHF Secretary Olympian Rana Mujahid, Olympian Asif Bajwa, Olympian Shahbaz Senior and Olympian Kh Junaid, former captain national women hockey team Rahat Khan and a large number of young hockey players and officials were also present on this occasion.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail awarded the champions trophy to the Lahore captain Ali Sattar. He along with PHF Secretary Olympian Rana Mujahid, Olympian Asif Bajwa, Olympian Shahbaz Senior and Olympian Kh Junaid, Director Sports Yasmeen Akhtar, Divisional Sports Officer Lahore Rana Nadeem Anjum also distributed medals among the top players.
Later, all the top position holder teams had group photographs with Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail and other guests.
Talking on this occasion, Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail said it is a nice feeling to have great Olympians over here at the closing ceremony. “The presence of hockey greats is definitely a great motivation for young male and female hockey players”.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail said that the holding of U-16 Inter-Division Hockey and Mat Wrestling Championship is just a beginning. “Sports Board Punjab will hold U-16 championships of two games every month under SBP’s 2-year Annual Sports Calendar”.
Olympian Rana Mujahid, Olympian Asif Bajwa, Olympian Shahbaz Senior and Olympian Kh Junaid highly appreciated the initiative of Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail to hold U-16 championships of two games every month. “It is the right and suitable manner to find talented players in every game and certainly Pakistan can regain its lost glory through this valuable strategy,” they said.
Talking to media on this occasion, Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail lauded the exceptional talent of young male and female hockey players. He congratulated team managements including all divisional sports officers for selecting their teams on merit.
“The cities like Faisalabad and Gojra always considered on top when it comes to cities with immense hockey talent but this time cities like Bahawalpur, Multan and Gujranwala also presented top quality hockey throughout the tournament,” he added.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail also congratulated the title winning male and female hockey teams and said that it is their hard work and professional game that earned them coveted SBP Talent Hunt U-16 Inter-Division Hockey Championship titles. “Sports Board Punjab will continue to take effective steps to revive the game of hockey among youth”.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail said that players from all regions of Punjab participated in the Inter-Division Hockey Championship. “A Punjab team is being formed consisting of the best performing players of the championship. We are holding back-to-back sports competitions according to the vision of Chief Minister Punjab,” he added.
On the girls side, Bahawalpur division girls’ hockey team stunned the Lahore team by 3-1 in the final of U-16 Inter-Division Hockey Championship. The third position went to Faisalabad team which toppled Sargodha by 3-0 at the same venue.  
DG Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail was also introduced to the players of both the teams before the final match. A large number of sports officials and players were also present on the occasion.
In the girls’ hockey final, Bahawalpur girls demonstrated wonderful command of the proceedings right from the beginning. Bahawalpur skipper Sobia Afzal gave her team a 2-0 lead through field goals scored in 19th and 23rd minute.
Lahore’s Mehek reduced the lead in the 46th minute when she struck a nice field goal. However, Javeria Raheem netted another field goal for Bahawalpur in 58th minute to complete her team’s comprehensive victory.
In the 3rd/4th position match, Faisalabad girls’ team did not give any room to Sargodha to settle down, winning their lope-sided match by 3-0 goals. Captain of Faisalabad girls’ team Shanzay Murad netted two field goals in 18th and 26th minutes while the third goal was contributed by Farwa Haider in 48th minute.