THE Pakistan Hockey Federation is hosting the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto All Pakistan Gold Cup Men's Hockey Tournament in Islamabad, starting Oct 14. The tournament will feature departmental and provincial teams from all over Pakistan.

It is regrettable, however, that the federation chose to name the tournament after the late PPP chairperson when it could very well have named it after one of the Pakistani hockey players.

That these names serve as a mark of reverence and recognition of her services to the nation is indeed a noble idea. Considering, however, that hockey is a sport, it seems more appropriate to name it such as to honour those who have done much for the sport instead of using it to glorify a particular political party or cause. There have been many sportsmen of national fame who have brought laurels for the country and it seems appropriate to name such tournaments after the legends of hockey.

M.Z. HASSAN
Lahore