ISLAMABAD With a resuscitation effort being engineered by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) in order to revive the national game, Federal Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jilani on Thursday hinted that the government would soon be restarting 'live hockey commentary' on Radio Pakistan.

'I will be taking up the live hockey radio commentary issue with the Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira as the step will benefit around 70 per cent of our rural population, enabling them get the latest on the national sport,' the sports minister told Dawn.

Hockey commentary had remained a hallmark of the six decades old Radio Pakistan.

He said the national team during its recent stints had improved its Asian as well as international rankings while also regaining roots within the masses.

Pakistan has climbed to second place in the men's Asian Hockey ranking while the green shirts linger at number six in the World.

'Hockey is our national game and there are only a few important international events scheduled to be held within the next two years including the hockey World Cup in 2010,' he pointed out.

The green shirts would be featuring in the World Cup 2010 qualifying round slated to be held in Lille, France, in November this year.

Mr Jilani pointed out 'All these efforts are meant to arrest the decline of hockey and provide a boost to the national sport.'

However, a senior official of the Information Ministry said 'Reviving live hockey commentary on Radio Pakistan will be a very good proposal but it will also be great if the Sports Ministry could resolve the financial aspect attached to the initiative, too.

'Hockey, in the last several months since the inception of the new management, has been promoted massively by the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who also happens to be the game's patron, and finances must not be a problem for the promoters of the game,' he informed.