The OHC Bully Hockey Club, Netherlands, arrived in Lahore on Saturday night to play three friendly games in Lahore and Islamabad during a week-long visit.
Hockey Olympian Khawaja Junaid, Junaid Chattha and Higher Education Commission officials received the visiting Dutch club at the Allama Iqbal International airport.
The Oldenzaal Hockey Club “Bully”, commonly known as OHC Bully, is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Khawaja Junaid Hockey Academy (KJHA) and will play three games in all with two at the historic National Hockey Stadium, Lahore, and one at the Naseer Bunda Stadium, Islamabad. The Bully hockey club will play games against the Higher Education Commission (HEC) hockey team picked from the Prime Minister’s Youth Talent Hunt Program.
The OHC Bully’s visit is historic in the sense that it is after a long interval of 22 years that a European hockey club is visiting Pakistan and the Bully’s visit is one of the small steps towards the goal of revival of hockey in the country. The visit may also encourage other European hockey clubs to visit Pakistan every year during the winters.
Former Olympian Khawaja Junaid, talking to APP here on Saturday, said that he was thankful to the OHC Bully for accepting the invitation to visit Pakistan for friendlies, adding that Khawaja Junaid Hockey club was committed to revival of hockey by nurturing talent at the grassroots level. He said the OHC Bully’s visit is part of the efforts to restore prestige of the national sport.
Khawaja Junaid further said that he was grooming raw hockey talent through coaching from the tender age of seven years, adding that the HEC team was selected by him after trials of 25,000 budding players under the Youth Talent Hunt Program.
Acknowledging role of former hockey Olympian Fareed Ahmed, who happens to be the coach of OHC Bully, in arranging the visit to Pakistan, he said, “I am also connecting with the outside world to provide the right exposure to these young lads at an early age.” He said this will be a discovery visit for the youth being foreign to Pakistan’s rich hockey traditions and hospitality, expressing the hope that Pakistan will soon become annual rendezvous for the European clubs and teams.
Former World Champion Khawaja Junaid further said field hockey comes to a standstill during harsh winters in Europe and European clubs visit the nearby countries like Spain to play hockey, adding that it is the time when European teams may be invited to make Pakistan their destination as the country boasts of a mild weather during this period.
Responding to a query, he said visit of a European hockey club will also help promote the country’s tourism through sports, adding that this is also a good opportunity for showcase cultural heritage and historical ancestry to the world. Khawaja Junaid also shared that OHC Bully is almost a century-old club which was founded in 1935.
Khawaja Junaid thanked Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Dr. Usman Anwar and Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed for their support in making this visit of a European hockey club possible.
Captain OHC Bully Ruben Kattier, upon arrival in Lahore, said that it is a pride to visit and play at Pakistani soil rich in hockey tradition. He said he was immensely pleased to lead a team to the iconic National Hockey Stadium in Lahore, adding that Pakistan has played a distinctive role in promotion of hockey across the globe.