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PAF lament PHF age restriction rule Back To Main

KARACHI: Pakistan Air Force (PAF) manager Rauf Khan cried foul after Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) allowed international players above the age of 30 to take part in the 59th National Hockey Championship against its policy of only under-30 athletes for the event.

It has been learnt that PHF has made the rule that players above 30 who have been the part of national setup on regular basis are eligible to play in the competition.

WAPDA, which boast Olympian Rehan Butt, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Imran and Waqas Sharif, humbled PAF 6-1 in their round match on Saturday.

The presence of Wasim and Butt infuriated Khan who said that the age limit should have been across the board and even the international players should not have been allowed to take part in the event.

Shakeel Abbasi is another player who falls in the above 30 category. “This is total injustice that current international stars have been allowed while others who are over age are barred from participation under the bogus rule,” Khan, a former international player, told ‘The News’.

“In this way departments who enjoy the services of international players will become stronger while other departments will only become weak. So what’s the point of staging the national championship in this manner?” he asked.

Khan said that due to the rule 13, many of his players have become ineligible for the tourney and makeshift players have been drafted in for the event which is a shame. Khan, who has also worked as a goalkeeping coach in the past, revealed that most of his players have been sent on duty.

He questioned how one can expect his department to perform well in the event when his team is short of ammunition while others have all basis covered.

Khan revealed that PAF are not the only victim of this rule and other teams have also suffered badly, but people are not coming out to condemn this decision by the federation.

PAF captain Saeed Shah is one of the 13 players who have become ineligible. He has been limited to the bench with the post of assistant manager.

“I am just 40 days over the line and our department asked for special permission but that was not given. When we contacted tournament director Ahmed Alam, he said that you become an official just like we are,” said sad-looking Shah. “Why would departments make players permanent if they knew that we would

be of no use after a certain age? This would affect our livelihood because contractual jobs do not guarantee any financial security.”

Rule may result in department closures: Kashif Jawad

Meanwhile, former Olympian and Port Qasim (PQ) coach Kashif Jawad has said that the age rule can prove deadly for the future of departmental teams. They would be closed on poor performance, leading to unemployment for players, he said.

“Though PHF has allowed regular international players, I feel that their policy leaves the departmental teams’ future hanging in balance,” said Jawad, who revealed that nine of their players have become ineligible. “If we perform poorly due to the absence of main players, the bosses will close down hockey teams.

“PHF wants young players to come up but it should not overlook the point that departmental teams have become handicapped because of the rule and if any department closes down, PHF will be responsible for that. Juniors will never learn until they play with seniors.”

It’s a policy matter, says Ahmed Alam

Tournament director Ahmed Alam has said that the age rule is a policy matter of PHF, which aims at providing job openings for younger lot in the departments.

Ultimately Pakistan would get fresh blood as a result of this move, he claimed.

Alam added that Rehan Butt is wanted by the national team management and there was a proper approval by the PHF secretary Asif Bajwa and federation’s executive board for him to take part so that his fitness can be judged for Olympics.

He brushed aside PAF’s claim that their captain should have also been allowed.

He said that the player has not featured in the national team for last two years so that is like beating the drum without any logic