ROTTERDAM: President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Akhtar Rasool and secretary Rana Mujahid are here to meet the officials of various federations in a bid to persuade them to visit Pakistan for the revival of international hockey ahead of the 17th Asian Games being held in Incheon, South Korea from Sept 19 to Oct 4.

The two PHF officials will be meeting FIH president Leandro Negre to secure his support for the revival of international hockey.

“Our main objective of coming here is to secure the support of FIH and other countries for the resumption of international hockey in Pakistan,” said Mujahid.

He said he will also be meeting the officials of Korean and Malaysia federations to arrange the Pakistan team’s tour of those countries ahead of the Asian Games. Pakistan will be defending their crown in the Asian Games which they won at Guangzhou in 2010.

Mujahid further said he will also be meeting the Indian Hockey Federation in a bid to arrange bilateral series with India. “Resumption of international hockey is of prime importance for the revival and uplifting of Pakistan hockey,” he said.

Meanwhile, former PHF president Qasim Zia will be representing Pakistan in the executive board meeting of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) being held at The Hague on June 10. Despite former centre-half Akhtar being the current PHF chief, it will be Qasim who will be attending the meeting since he remains on the executive board of FIH.

While the agenda of the meeting is known, according to reports various issues pertaining to hockey across the globe including the Olympic Games, World Cup and other continental competitions will be dicussed.

Four-time world champions Pakistan, once a powerhouse of hockey, failed for the first ever time to qualify for the 13th edition of the World Cup being played in The Hague.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2014