KARACHI, April 18: The organizing secretary of the 5th Men's Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament, Brig Musarratullah Khan said on Sunday the polygrass turf at Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium met International Hockey Federation specifications , brushing aside some officials' complaints about unevenness of the pitch.

Addressing a press briefing at a local hotel, he admitted that the pitch did pose some problems when it was dry but expressed hope teh rpoblem would be overcome by proper watering during the event.

Spectators' entry would be free, he said adding it was part of efforts to attract more enthusiasts to the championship. About number of qualifying teams for the next year's Junior World Cup in Amstelveen (Holland), he said there was ambiguity about the number. Clarification on this had been sought from FIH, he added.

The opening Pakistan-Singapore match will be played on Tuesday at 3.00 pm. Meanwhile, PHF has named a panel of technical officials appointed by Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) for the event.

Mathavan Devadas of Singapore is the tournament director.

Technical officials: Rao Salim Nazim (Pakistan), Mirza Farid Ahmed (Bangladesh), Ranjit Singh (Malaysia), Amarjeet Bawa Singh (India), umpires' manager.

Judges: Abdullah Ali Talaat, Rana Mujahid Ali (Pakistan), Jin Baolin (China), Chiu Cheng-feng (Chinese Taipei), C.P. Abdul Rashid (India), Fnastubramaram (Singapore).

Umpires: Mathieu Gruson (France), Marcelo Servetto (Spain), Sagayanthan Ambrose (Malaysia), Mohsin Ali Khan, Zulfiqar Haider (Pakistan), Latifur Rahman (Bangladesh), Chen Dekang (China), Hus Wen-yi, Bhupinder Singh (India), Satoshi Kondo (Japan), Woo Jong Oh (South Korea), G. Ramtas (Singapore), Mahesh Abeywickrama (Sri Lanka).

Organizing secretary: Brig Musarratullah Khan (Pakistan), Media officer: Sardar Khan (Pakistan) Medical officer: Col. Dr. Dilshad Ahmed Khan (Pakistan). -APP