Pakistan Hockey Secretary-General Asif Bajwa keen to resume bilateral ties with India

Karachi: The Pakistan Hockey Federation’s newly-appointed Secretary-General Asif Bajwa says reviving bilateral engagements with India is on the top of his to-do list as that can lift the PHF out of an ongoing financial crisis. Bajwa, who took up the position only last month, said he is hopeful of succeeding in his efforts too even though he hasn’t yet started work on it. [caption id=“attachment_7044081” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary-general Asif Bajwa. Image credit: Twitter/@PHFOfficial[/caption] “It would be wrong to say I have had a chance to talk to anyone on the issue of bilateral hockey ties with India. But that is my main goal and I am very hopeful the ice will break soon between the two countries in hockey,” he told PTI on Sunday at the Sattar Edhi hockey stadium in Karachi. “The way I look at it, if we convince them to play, then it would give a big boost to hockey in Pakistan and also help us overcome our financial crunch,” he added. The last time India and Pakistan played a bilateral Test series was back in 2006. They have only been meeting at multi-lateral events ever since due to political tensions between the two neighbours. Bajwa is believed to have good ties with top Indian sports administrator Narender Batra, who heads the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the International Hockey Federation (FIH). Batra is also a former President of Hockey India. The former Olympian said he would try to have talks with Batra soon on the possibility of having a bilateral series. “If we can play like in the past on home and away basis perfect but we would also not rule out a neutral venue,” he said. Bajwa, who was PHF secretary-general between 2008-13, said his focus is to make hockey a financially self-sufficient sport in the country. “It is a great sign that we have managed to hold the National hockey championship after two years here…The way forward for us is to have at least eight to nine domestic events annually and also to eventually have our professional hockey league in the country with foreign players,” he said. Bajwa said Pakistan was in the process of paying a fine to the International Hockey Federation for not sending the team to the FIH Pro-Hockey League earlier this year. “It was a mistake because the FIH Pro-Hockey League is the future of the sport and it will benefit us a lot. We still have a small window of opportunity available to us to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games but we have to wait and see what the FIH lines up for us,” he said. “But frankly speaking, I am already thinking ahead of preparing strong squads for the junior World Cup, senior World Cup, and the 2024 Olympic Games,” he added.