Emirates Pakistan Green shine in exhibition hockey tournament

Amir Naqvi, Sports Editor

Beyond the borders the Indian and Pakistani players shared a beautiful camaraderie with a unique bond of sports on UAE shores. The expat players from both the countries took part in an exhibition hockey tournament which was held to mark Pakistan’s and India’s Independence Day.

Four teams including Emirates Pakistan Green, Emirates White, Emirates India Blue and Emirates India Yellow took part in the event.

In the first match, Emirates Pakistan Green and Emirates White locked horns at the Ajyal Sports Centre in Sharjah.

The start of the match saw both the teams cede possession in the early exchanges.

Emirates Pakistan Green and Emirates White began the first quarter on a cautious note.

Both the teams tried to make a few inroads as the match progressed, but they couldn’t find an opening.

The defensive units of both the sides held fort as none of the teams could break the deadlock.

However, Emirates Pakistan Green emerged winners after Hamid Aziz scored the sole goal through a penalty.

In another match, Emirates India Blue beat Emirates India Yellow 2-0.

Emirates India Blue started aggressively. Their players exchanged some good passes to set up the team’s scoring chance but they were denied by the Emirates India Yellow goalkeeper, who made a brilliant save.

Emirates India Yellow also made some good forays inside their opponent’s circle but the custodian was up to the mark as both the teams failed to break the stalemate in the first quarter.

Jitesh Kumar put Emirates India Blue ahead with a wonderful strike in the second quarter.

After taking the lead, Emirates India Blue started the third quarter with a flurry of good opportunities inside the Emirates India Yellow citadel, and they benefited as Anwar Ali scored their second goal.

Emirates India Yellow tried to make a comeback into the match, but could not create enough opportunities as their rivals maintained their 2-0  advantage.

Emirates India Blue kept up the pressure on the Emirates India Yellow and continued to dominate the remainder of the match, including the entire last quarter.

Mohammad Safdar and Krishna worked hard to bring their team back into the game but it was too late.

A top Pakistani umpire Abid Naqvi along with Dr Sergey of Holland, Muhammad Nadeem and Sayed Azhar supervised the matches.

Naqvi, a former Pakistan Junior national team player, took up umpiring in 1982.

He has also played for Emirates Sports Store Hockey and Dulsco team in the UAE. Naqvi has officiated in more than 2,000 matches.

Chief guest Tahira Naseem, former Sharjah Tigers women hockey player, gave away the prizes to the winners in the presence of Faisal Ahmad Sandhu, Sunil Kumar, Anil Kumar and Amar Sulman Bernard.

Faizan Iqbal, manager of the team, skipper Habibullah and vice-captain Aziz received the winning trophy.

The president of the Sharjah Tigers club, Amar Sulman Bernard, played a key role in organising the matches.

Last week, another exhibition match was held to mark Pakistan Independence Day, in Dubai.

The match was played between the UAE Falcons and Pakistan Stars.

Both the teams started on an aggressive note, with the Pakistan Stars enjoying the better of the exchanges in the first quarter.

UAE Falcons and Pakistan Stars tried to make inroads into each other’s circle but some strong tackling and interceptions kept the deadlock intact.

However, after the break on the short corner Hamid Aziz got an advantage and managed to dodge the UAE Falcon’s goalkeeper.

UAE Falcons were forced into the attack in the final quarter and almost immediately tested Pakistan Stars’ goalkeeper.

However, the keeper was up to the task pulling off a succession of saves to keep his team in the lead. Finally, Pakistan Stars won the game 1-0.