Three Pakistani teams to play in Surjit Hockey

Jalandhar, Oct 17 (UNI) Three Pakistani teams--Javed Hockey Club, Gojra, Crescent Hockey Club, Sialkot and Independent Hockey Club, Sargodha--will play in the Indian Oil Servo Surjit Silver Jubilee Hockey Tournament to begin here at Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium, Burlton Park tomorrow.

As many as 77 members of all the three teams would arrive Wahga Border on October 20, Iqbal Singh Sandhu, Organising Secretary of the tournament said.

Keeping in view the Silver Jubilee Year, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is also sending two umpires, Dilawar Hussain Bhatti (International Umpires) and Shakeel Ahmad (National Grade-I Umpire), to supervise the matches of the tournament.

The opening match would be played between former Champion Punjab and Sind Bank (Delhi) and Border Security Force (BSF), Jalandhar.

The Silver Jubilee edition of the tournament would be played on knockout-cum-league basis. The teams have been divided in to four pools in league stage matches. Former champion Punjab and Sind Bank (Delhi), BSF, Jalandhar and Javed Hockey Club (Gojra-Pakistan) are in Pool-'A'. Bharat Perroleum (Mumbai), Independent Hockey Club, Sialkot (Pakistan) and Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala in Pool-'B'. Air India (Mumbai), Punjab Police and the winner team of knockout stage in Pool-'C' while last years' champion IndianOil (Mumbai), Crescent Hockey Club, Sargodha (pakistan) and Namdhari-XI (Sirsa) are placed in Pool-'D', Sandhu added.

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