Pakistan’s 37th National Junior Hockey Championships in Islamabad ended a few days back. 10 of the 16 competing teams included 23 Dar Hockey Academy boys.
All four semifinalists were studded with Dar HA colts. Pakistan Customs, the winners, had the highest representation of Pakistan’s biggest hockey nursery — six players. In the pulsating final, Customs defeated Pakistan Navy in a penalty shootout after the match had ended 2-2 in regulation time.
Dar HA’s up-and-coming goalkeeper Faizan Janjua was Customs’ hero in the shootout.
Lahore-based academy’s contribution towards Customs’ success goes beyond that. The winning team’s head coach Danish Kaleem (World Cup winner 1994), manager Irfan Butt and video analyst Sultan Ashraf are engaged in similar roles with the Dar HA for a very long time. Olympic gold medallist Tauqeer Dar, the founder and President of Dar Hockey Academy, is a retired Customs officer. He played for the Customs team during its heyday, winning the national title four times in the 1980s. Hence, it was no surprise that the Customs show was mainly the Dar Hockey Academy show.