Tuesday 26 / November / 2024
Muscat: The officials of the Pakistan Social Club (PSC) are working round the clock to successfully organise the Independence Cup exhibition hockey match between the visiting Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) team and Oman national squad.
The match, being organised in co-operation with Muscat Beach Trading and Oman Hockey Association (OHA) as part of PSC’s celebrations to mark the 70th Independence Day of Pakistan, will take place at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on August 23.
The PSC officials are all working with one objective — to host a grand event which hopefully will lead to making it an annual affair as well as pave the way for hosting more such hockey matches in the future.
“It has been our dream to host such a hockey match here in Oman,” said PSC vice-chairman A.H. Raja.
Speaking at a press conference organised at Al Falaj Hotel on Wednesday, Raja said: “We are happy to see that dream finally come true. We are looking at this event as an opportunity to further strengthen the sporting ties between Oman and Pakistan.”
“We are working to make it a grand success. We would like to see this event becoming a permanent fixture in the Oman sports calendar,” he added.
The PSC official also thanked the Sultanate’s hockey governing body and the PIA for all their support.
“We would like to thank Oman Hockey Association for agreeing to our proposal and extending their support to host this match. We would also like to thank the PIA for accepting our invitation and agreeing to send their team to Oman and to play this match,” he said.
Aftab Gilani, Event Co-ordinator and Director of Pakistan Social Club, giving the details of the match, said: “The PIA team will be coming with some of the stalwarts of Pakistan hockey — a couple of legends in the list of officials and some Olympians and internationals among the players.”
“The PIA team will be playing against current members of the Oman national team and we are expecting a great match,” he added.
“The match will be played at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex from 8 p.m. on August 23,” he informed.
Shahzad Piracha, Country Manager of PIA Oman, in his remarks said: “The PIA has always been supporting such sports events. We hope this match will lead to a new era in Oman and Pakistan sporting relations.”
OHA Treasurer Zuhair Al Ajmi said: “Congratulations to the Pakistan Social Club for arranging this hockey match. It’s a good attempt to bring the hockey lovers of both countries even closer.”
“We are happy to have PIA team here and we are also happy to field our national team in this match,” he added.
Living legends
The PIA team will be arriving with the some of the legends of the sport including Shahid Ali Khan (manager), Mohammed Irfan (manager), Qamar Ibrahim (assistant manager), and Khalid Bashir (short corner specialist), all Olympians.
The players list includes Olympians, like Mohammed Zubair and Waqas Akber, several internationals and a few upcoming talents.
The event sponsors include Double Road Tyres, Habib Bank, Mian Riaz and Partners, Lacnor Juices, Omar Al Khayyam Restaurants and Hotel Al Falaj.
Full list of PIA team: Ihsanullah, Mohammad Zubair, Yasim Islam, Anayat Ullah, Imran Khan, Kashif Ali, Imran Abbas, Aamir Shahzad, Waqas Akber, Ali Haider, Tanzeemul Hassan, Owaisur Rehman, Waseem Akram, Saif Ali Khan (all players), Shahid Ali Khan (manager), Mohammed Irfan (coach), Qamar Ibrahim (assisstant manager), Khalid Bashir (short corner specialist).
