Pakistan

Lahore, Dec. 29 : Tariq Kirmani was named as new Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) chief after Gen Aziz Khan stepped down, saying it was unfair to continue following his retirement from Pakistan Army.

"I took charge of the PHF as an army officer and after retiring from the institution it is not fair to continue, therefore, I have tendered my resignation which has been accepted by the prime minister.

According to Dawn, "the prime minister rang me up in the morning and informed that Tariq Kirmani will be the new PHF president," Aziz told reporters. Tariq, named by the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, is the head of Pakistan State Oil.

Aziz said that he had informed President Pervez Musharraf of his decision after retiring from army in October. Aziz was appointed by the President in 2000. "I was instructed to continue till Lahore's Champions Trophy in November and I have completed my task," he said.

Asked what was the major reason for leaving the PHF after retiring from the army as earlier Lt-Gen Tauqir Zia had also left the Pakistan Cricket Board as its chairman after retiring from army, he said "I do not know why Tauqir quit PCB but I am clear about my decision."

Pakistan failed to win a single major title during Aziz's tenure and finished at third place in the recently concluded Champions Trophy under imported coach Roelant Oltmans hired barely nine months ahead of the six-nation tournament.

Aziz said he regretted that Pakistan could not end the victory drought during his tenure. "I was hopeful that Pakistan will play the final at Athens Olympics and I wished to go there but it did not happen," he said.

"The team has been showing complacency in crucial matches which was the main drawback, otherwise our team has emerged as a fine outfit,' he opined. "We lost a crunch match to Spain in the Olympics and again showed complacency against Spain and the Netherlands in the Champions Trophy because of which we did not play the final."

However, the former PHF president felt things were going in the right direction and hopefully Pakistan would be performing better in the next couple of years. "I hope team will play the World Cup final in 2006."

He expressed satisfaction over the administration of the PHF during his tenure. "When I took charge the PHF had to borrow from PCB (Rs20 million ) to send its team to Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Now PHF is financially strong and even hired foreign experts for one year. PHF successfully organized the Champions Trophy which is another achievement. "The country will soon have 17 turfs in the country. I hope each district will have a turf in netx 15 to 20 years," he hoped. (ANI)

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