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| August 8, 2003 | Friday | Jumadi-us-Sani 9, 1424 |
PHF fails to take action against rowdy players
KARACHI, Aug 7: Discipline has again taken a backseat as Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) did not take action against the two national team players who exchanged abuses and hot words during a session.
Rehan Butt and Sameer Hussain traded abuse while playing a practice game at Steel Mills ground where 18-member squad was preparing for Champions Trophy which starts from Aug 16 in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.
It all started when Sameer failed to get possession of a loose ball and was criticised by Rehan which was followed by exchange of hot words and abusive language.
Both the players almost came to blows as Rehan rushed towards Sameer, apparently to hit him, but was refrained from doing so by teammates and manager Abdul Rashid Jr.
The manager asked Rehan
to leave the field and pacified him by offering tea and snacks on the sidelines after the tiff.
“It was nothing serious. These things do happen when players practice. It was just in the heat of the moment that Sameer and Rehan exchanged hot words,” Rashid said on Thursday.
PHF has opted to compromise on the discipline as the players were not even reprimanded by the administration. The camp has concluded and the team leaves for the Dutch city on Sunday for elite six-nation tournament considered to be the toughest of all.
Almost an identical incident took place in the year 2001 during the training camp for the tour of Europe involving striker Haider Hussain and midfielder Mohammad Usman.
Following the squabble, the then manager Brig Khalid Khokhar asked Haider for an explanation.
The striker was ousted from the squad and never managed to stage his comeback since then as the PHF did not find his answer satisfactory.
APP adds from Lahore: The council meeting of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) will be held on Aug 11.
President, PHF, General Muhammad Aziz Khan will preside over the meeting which will discuss an important agenda.
“The meeting will review the progress achieved from the development programmes launched for grooming talent and forming junior teams,” said Brig Musarrat Ullah Khan, secretary, PHF said on thursday.
PHF has unveiled a number of programmes to identify talent at early stages and to have a solid base at grass root level.
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