KARACHI, Nov 25: Defending champions Port Qasim Authority (PQA) will not be playing in the Under-20 NBP Junior Hockey Tournament that commences from Wednesday at the Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP).

This was disclosed by the Karachi Hockey Association (KHA) while announcing the details on the eve of the tournament.

Eight teams, namely, NBP, Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and hosts Karachi confirmed their availability for the tournament just a day prior to the competition.

The tournament, which concludes on Dec 5, will see its first match between NBP and Sindh being played at 2.00pm, followed by the second, which will have hosts Karachi taking on KESC. NBP’s President Syed Ali Raza will be the chief guest on the inaugural day.—Sports Reporter