ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has written a letter to the Ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) to seek its advice on resuming hockey activities in the country.

PHF secretary Asif Bajwa last month had announced to hold the hockey league by the end of ongoing month and the first round of national tray championship in September-October.

“Yes, we’ve announced to hold these events, but we can’t hold these in the present circumstances. The month of Moharram has also started and it is not appropriate to hold any event right now,” Bajwa told APP on Tuesday.

“We’ll also only be able to resume activities if the government allows us to do so. We’ve written a letter to the IPC secretary to seek guidance and will only be able to hold these events when well get a go ahead signal.”

According to Bajwa, the PHF gives utmost priority to players’ safety and there would be no compromise on that. “We’ve talked to national head coach Khawaja Junaid and junior team coach Danish Kaleem on resuming hockey activities. The players are also eager to be back to action, but their safety is our collective responsibility.”

The PHF secretary said that the federation was in constant touch with the players and keeping them engaged through online workout plans and tutorials to help them maintain physical fitness and prepare them for future assignments after the end of coronavirus-forced lockdown.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2020