Daily Times

LAHORE: Olympic gold medallist Tauqeer Dar, the dynamic president of Pakistan’s finest hockey nursery Dar Hockey Academy, is always on the move. He organised a four-day 7-a-side tournament at the APS Model High School Model Town Lahore’s mini synthetic turf. The event featured Lahore’s three prime hockey academies, Dar Academy, Rana Zaheer Academy and Khawaja Junaid Academy plus the recently reraised Pakistan Customs team. It was titled Naushad Kayani Memorial 7-A-Side Tournament. Major General Naushad Kayani passed away a few years back due to blood cancer. The late General was a keen hockey player and captained Divisional Public School Lahore team with Tauqeer Dar as a team member. All four participating sides included Pakistan internationals, senior or age group players. After the single league, the top two sides, Dar HA and Pakistan Customs played the final on Thursday. Legendary full-back World Cup winner Manzoor-ul Hassan and the newly appointed manager of the Pakistan hockey team Col (r) Umar Sabir graced the occasion. The final was a thriller. Customs dominated the proceedings in the first half and went 2-0 ahead through goals by Mannan and Rana Sohail. Dar Academy staged a remarkable comeback and neutralised both goals via Awais and Abid Bhatti. The final entered the penalty shootout where Dar Hockey Academy prevailed.