Abdul Jabbar Faisal
RAWALPINDI:-The 2nd edition of the Mari Petroleum Azadi Hockey Cup 2023 will be rolled into action at Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Nadeem Hockey Stadium, Ayub Park Rawalpindi. Besides hosts, Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL), WAPDA, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force, Police, and Punjab Rangers will fight for top honour during the six-day national hockey fixture.
According to an official, the event will be conducted following International Hockey Federation (FIH), and Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) rules, as the top national technical officials and umpires will supervise the matches. Pride of Performance Olympian Nasir Ali, who secured gold medals in the 1984 Olympics and the 1982 World Cup, has been appointed Tournament Director for the Mari Petroleum Azadi Hockey Cup.
Local men, Shuja Iqbal Raja and Major (Retd) Tariq Ahmed have been appointed as Assistant Tournament Directors. Colonel (retd) Mohammad Yameen Khan (Mari Petroleum) will fulfill the role of Organizing Secretary, while Dr. Ahsan Tanveer (Islamabad) has been designated Deputy Organizing Secretary.
The position of chief coordinator has been entrusted to Lt. Col. R. Mohammad Asif Naz Khokhar (Lahore). Heading the jury of appeal is Olympian Hanif Khan (Karachi), an ex-captain of the national hockey team, as well as a gold medalist from the 1984 Olympics and the 1982 World Cup. Accompanying him are former international Hockey Player World Cup Gold medalist, Rana Mohammad Shafiq (Toba Tek Singh), and Rai Usman Akbar (Lahore), who will both serve as members.
The Mari Petroleum Azadi Hockey Cup Technical Officials Panel includes the following appointed Haji Naeem (Rawalpindi), Tariq Butt (Lahore), Syed Zia Hussain Bukhari (Rawalpindi), Asif Baig (Islamabad), Akhtar Ali (Hyderabad), Yasir Lodhi (CASCO), Mohammad Yasin (Rawalpindi), Rafiqur Rehman (Rawalpindi), Murtaza Bhatti (Rawalpindi), Tahir Sharif Gujjar (Whari), Hamza Tufail (Peshawar), Asif Shahzad (Islamabad), Naveed Ahmed (Islamabad), and Gulfam Khokhar (Islamabad).
Empires Panel: Anwar Hussain (Army), Yasir Khurshid International (Railways), Haroon Rashid International (Peshawar), Ameer Hamza (Air Force), Waqas Ahmed Butt (WAPDA), Asad Abbas (Army), Wasim (Army), Fahad Ali Khan (Karachi), Irfan Tahir (Bahawalpur), Zahid Ali (Larkana), Rizwan Khan (Karachi), and Malik Safdar (Islamabad).
