ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL
Islamabad (August 4, 2021):-Mari Petroleum Azadi Hockey Cup 2021 will start from August 8 at Mari Petroleum Astroturf Hockey Stadium Ayub Park Rawalpindi under the auspices of Mari Petroleum Sports Department under the banner of Pakistan Hockey Federation, as top eight teams will take part in the 7-day fixture. The final will be played on Independent Day August 14 at same venue.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has appointed Olympian Ayaz Mahmood as the director tournament while Rashid Butt will be the umpire’s manager. Federation appointed all umpires and technical officials in accordance with the rules of the International Hockey Federation.
The 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist, Pride of Performance, Olympian Ayaz Mahmood has been appointed Tournament Director by PHF while International Technical Officers Mohammad Shafiq Bhatti (Lahore) and Mohammad Yaseen (Rawalpindi) will be the Assistant Tournament Directors.
Tournament Officers include Dr. SA Majid (Karachi), M. Javed Sadiq (MEPCO), Hamza Tufail (Peshawar), Aslam Shah (Okara), Mohammad Ali (Quetta), Ikram-ul-Haq (Nankana Sahib), Ghulam Mustafa (Hyderabad), Murtaza. Bhatti (MPCL), Zulfiqar Hussain (Sukkur), Mohammad Ashraf (Islamabad), Haroon Saeed (DG Khan), Naseer Ahmad Mughal (Islamabad), Nisar Aslam (MPCL), Haji Naeem (M PCL), Mohammad Muneeb (MPCL), Dawar Ali (MPCL), Mehboob Alam (MPCL) and Shahid Gul (Faisalabad) will perform their professional duties during the event.
FIH Umpires Manager Rashid Mehmood Butt has been assigned as the event's umpires manager while Ehsanul Haq (Rawalpindi) and Dilawar Hussain Bhatti (WAPDA) will be the assistant umpires’ manager. The umpiring panel will consist of Abdul Manan (Hyderabad), Mahmood Ali (PIA), Haroon Rashid (Peshawar), Sabteen Raza (National Bank), Abdul Wali (Quetta), Mohammad Imran (Bahawalpur), Takrim Iftikhar (Karachi), Mohammad Bilal (Army), Asad Abbas (Army) and Zahid Hameed (WAPDA).
Lt. Col. R Asif Naz Khokhar has been appointed as the Coordinator of Pakistan Hockey Federation while Habib-ur-Rehman Satti will be the Assistant Coordinator. Pakistan Hockey Federation appoints Syed Ali Abbas as media coordinator of the event. Event Officers Meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Tournament Director Olympian Ayaz Mahmood on August 7 at Mari Petroleum Hockey Stadium Ayub Park Rawalpindi at 3:00 pm while Managers Coaches Meeting will be held at 4:00 pm. Under the auspices of Mari Petroleum Sports Department, the organizing secretary of this magnificent mega-domestic event will be Sports Consultant Mari Petroleum & former Manager National Hockey Team Lt. Col. R Mohsin Ali Khan. The top eight teams of Pakistan Hockey Federation rankings are participating in the event include Pakistan Wapda, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Sui Southern Gas, Pakistan Navy, Mari Petroleum Company Limited, Pakistan Air Force, Punjab and Pakistan Army.
