LAHORE: It was a scene to watch for the first time in Lahore when a boy hockey player tried to score on a penalty stroke while a girl hockey player was in front of him as the goalkeeper.

Saba Shabbir, playing for the Khurshid Azam Solar Surges, successfully stopped the penalty stroke, which proved vital to put the final of the Robert Lathouwers Hockey League Series at 2-2 level. The match was later decided on a penalty shootout. Saba’s team won the final and she was also declared as the best goalkeeper of the tournament.

“Playing along with the boys was a good experience as we learnt a lot, though it was tough. I feel stopping the balls hit by the boys is rather harder as compared to the girls. It increased our confidence, too. We qualified for the final as an unbeaten side,” Saba said while talking to Dawn.

It was the first time that a tournament was organised by giving representation to girls to compete along with boys. Four teams participated in it and they had three women each.

According to the rules, one boy and one girl was to be included in each team as goalkeepers and it was mandatory to keep at least one girl player on the field throughout the match.

The tournament was held at the National Hockey Stadium’s outer ground in memory of the late Robert Lathouwers, a former international Dutch hockey umpire. Lathouwers was a great admirer of Pakistan hockey and he had visited Lahore many times. He used to invite the Dar Hockey Academy team to Holland, arranging many matches with the European hockey clubs and providing his own residence to stay in Holland.

Four teams, named after former late Olympians, ie Khawaja Aslam Warriors, Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool Titans, Khurshid Azam Solar Surges (the winners), Muhammad Afzal Manna Thunder Strikers, participated in the tournament, organised by the Dar Hockey Academy. The players of different hockey academies in Lahore formed the four teams.

Tournament held in memory of Robert Lathouwers breaks barriers

The severe cold weather of Lahore could not deter the zeal and fervour of the players as well as the fans who came in good numbers to watch the matches.

Tahira Islam, the goalkeeper of the Khawaja Aslam Warriors, said: “I am very happy for playing along with the boys. It is not easy to play along with them as they are far ahead than girls in skill and technique. But this opportunity gave us a good learning experience as when you play a tough game, it improves your own game.” She suggested that such an activity should continue in the future.

Sherara Sabir of the Afzal Manna’s Thunder Strikers, also a goalkeeper, was of the opinion that the matches she played with boys team improved her speed and agility.

“As you know our country’s women hockey team is weak, more such tournaments can bring about drastic changes in the standard of women hockey,” she suggested.

Nida Majeed of the Ghulam Rasool Titans also had similar views.

H. Batool, a centre forward of the Afzal Manna team, said she had to run faster to match the boys’ speed. “Though it was difficult in the beginning but later I started feeling improvement in my speed and skill.”

The boys also appreciated the attempt, which would increase the talent of women hockey players as the Pakistani women players are nowhere in international hockey.

Mohammad Ahmad, who played for Khawaja Aslam team and was declared as the best player of the tournament, said: “It was a good activity and we all learnt a lot. First time, the main hockey academies of Lahore gathered under one umbrella. The girls must have learnt a lot throughout this tournament”.

Olympian Rehan Butt, who was the coach of the winning side, considered it a good idea to include girls in the team.

“The girls learnt a lot while the boys also remained disciplined and they did not use any foul language during the play. Our girls are not that good in the game and if this practice continues, they will definitely get a lot of improvement in their game,” he said.

Olympian Tauqir Dar, the organiser of the tournament, said: “Our girls have fewer opportunities to play hockey and the tournament decided to give them a chance to play the game. The experience proved very successful as the tournament got attention and a good number of fans remained present to watch the matches. We will try to continue the practice in the future too with the hope that the other hockey organisers also do the same”.

Robert Lathouwers, in whose memory the tournament was organised, performed umpire duties in international hockey with a great respect from 1978 to 1994, including three Olympics and two World Cups. He used to visit Pakistan a lot for the love of Pakistan hockey team.

Two years ago, he suffered a severe heart attack in Lahore and remained hospitalised for almost one month. After reaching Holland, the sad news of his demise was received. The Dar Hockey Academy decided to hold this tournament in his memory to pay a tribute to his services for the domestic hockey of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, january 1st, 2024