SBP Selection Committees Complete U-18 Hockey Trials for All Divisions

By Farzana Chaudhry
Lahore, April 1, 2026: On the directions of Director General Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Muhammad Tariq Qureshi, Sports Board Punjab’s selection committees conducted Under-18 hockey trials for all divisions at Lahore, Faisalabad, and Bahawalpur on Wednesday.
The trials were held in collaboration with the Punjab Hockey Association to select four Punjab teams that will participate in the upcoming U-18 Youth Hockey Championship to be held at Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium, Islamabad, under the auspices of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).
Trials for Lahore and Gujranwala Divisions took place at National Hockey Stadium Pitch-2 under the supervision of a selection committee comprising Olympian Khawaja Junaid, Director Sports Chand Perveen, and Divisional Sports Officer Tariq Khanzada. More than 110 young hockey players from these divisions participated.
Director General Muhammad Tariq Qureshi said several talented players have been identified during the trials. “The selected players will be included in Punjab’s four U-18 hockey teams for the national championship,” he added.
He further informed that trials for Lahore and Gujranwala divisions will continue on Thursday (April 2) at the same venue.
Trials for Faisalabad, Sargodha, and Rawalpindi divisions were organized at Faisalabad Hockey Stadium and supervised by Olympians M Khalid, Shafqat Malik, ex-coach Nawaz Dogar, Shabir, and Shahid Gill.
Meanwhile, trials for Bahawalpur, Multan, DG Khan, and Sahiwal divisions were conducted at Dring Hockey Stadium, Bahawalpur under the supervision of Olympian Dr Atif Bashir, Haroon Saeed (Secretary Punjab Hockey Association), Umer Bhutta, Farooq Ahmed, M Arshad, Kashif Ali, and Abdul Saeed.
The selection process is being carried out purely on merit, officials said.