September 17, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 16, 1429

LAHORE, Sept 16: Former Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Khalid Mahmood has opposed the decision of the federation of closing down hockey academies which were functioning in Karachi and Lahore.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, Khalid said that such decisions would damage the process of promotion of the game in the country which was already on decline.

Surprisingly, PHF President Zafarullah Khan Jamali had set up the academies under the supervision of Olympian Naveed Alam when Khalid Mahmood was his secretary.

But with new Secretary Asif Bajwa, who replaced Khalid weeks before the Beijing Olympics, the president agreed to wind up the academies.

When asked, Bajwa said the decision to close down the academies had been taken with the approval of PHF president.

“We will set up new academies with new ideas,” he said.

Meanwhile, Khalid said he had set up the academies despite having very limited resources where many players sharpened their skills.

“People will lose faith in the PHF with the decision,” he added.

Khalid said it would have been better to improve the existing academies instead of folding them up altogether.