KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) committed yet another blunder in less then a year when it allowed to hold musical concert on the newly-laid synthetic turf at the Abdul Sattar Edhi Hockey Stadium on Friday night.

“Rubbish was spread all over the blue and pink turf and it was slighly damaged at two to three places as some participants threw cigarettes butts on it,” a source who visited the site told Dawn on Saturday.

According to the source, the PHF permitted to hold the musical function where noted singer Atif Aslam delighted spectators with his songs.

The bells of mobile phone of co-director of the stadium former Olympian Iftikhar Syed kept ringing and he could not be reached when this correspondent tried to get his comments on Saturday.

Sources said the PHF official also attended the musical concert.

It is shameful that on one hand the turf is not available to local players for practice and on the other it is being given to outsiders for holding such reckless activities.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan hockey was virtually buried when in presence of a number of former Olympians and internationals a group of people was allowed to demonstrate motorbike show at the same turf on the Independence Day last year.

Though, many hockey greats condemned the “motorbike show” that preceded the final of the Premier Pakistan Cup nine-a-side hockey tournament, yet no soul was moved in the PHF who allowed to hold another ugly show at the same venue after eight months.

It is a dilemma that the PHf secretary Shahbaz Ahmed, who is also a former Olympian, is very much aware of the difficulties the nation face in importing a synthetic pitch from abroad.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2017