KARACHI, Jan 24: PTCL will defend their title in the junior under-18 national hockey championship which rolls off Friday at the dilapidated Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP) Astro turf.

Sixteen teams will be seen in action including two outfits from each province apart from seven departmental teams and Islamabad.

The departments to take part in the prestigious junior contest are PTCL, Pakistan Police, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Ordnance Factories, Pakistan Boards, Railways, National Bank of Pakistan.

However, it is an irony that Habib Bank, despite being the major sponsors of the tournament, have failed to enter their outfit, while national champions PIA too could not send their team.

Customs, who had produced a number of stars in the past, will also be missing from the field given the fact that Zafar Iqbal, a Member Technical Customs Excise Appellate Tribunal, is the chairman of the organizing committee.

Non-presence of such departments, who have been regular source of producing hockey stalwarts for years, is a clear indication the sport is taking a sharp nose dive at grassroots level.

Organizing such a prestigious contest at a venue having a worn-out surface is beyond comprehension. The Pakistan Hockey Federation’s decision to hold the tournament is devoid of any wisdom since there was a better venue in UBL Sports Complex.

Nevertheless, now the PHF is organizing the championship at the very same venue which according to it is not even able to be used for the camp training.

Friday’s fixtures:

POF v Islamabad at 8.00am; Railways v NWFP “B” at 9.30am; Sindh “A” v Balochistan “B” at 11.00am; Army v Pakistan Boards at 3.00pm.