KARACHI: The scrutiny committee constituted by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has barred no less than 42 players from competing in the ongoing 33rd National Junior Hockey Championship after they were found overage.

“Yes we’ve expelled 42 players belonging to 14 of the 15 competing teams on account of being overage over the last two days,” retired Col Nadeem Ahmed Bhatti, a member of the scrutiny committee, told Dawn on Thursday.

Bhatti said he along with another member of the committee, Ramzan Jamali, conducted scrutiny of players of eight teams on Wednesday and the remaining seven teams on Thursday to discourage the practice of fielding overage players.

Two other members of the committee, Tahir Zaman and Dr Waqar could not make it to the event.

Players born on or after 1.1. 1996 are eligible to compete in the country’s premier junior hockey championship.

In the absence of wrist test, the players were disqualified on the basis of their face reading.

Bhatti, an FIH course conductor, said the only exception was Pakistan Board team and he will recommend to PHF to honour them with an award.—Sports Correspondent

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2014