Bahrain: Display of Skill and Passion at Open Hockey 7s Tourney
Ronald D F D’Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Bahrain
Bahrain, Jun 5: Waseem Hockey Club (WHC) of Pakistan displayed superior skills and experience to defeat Wanderers Hockey Club of Qatar 2-0 in the final to win the Bahrain Open Hockey 7s organised by the Bahrain Hockey Association and sponsored by Gulf Agency Company (GAC) at the St Christopher’s School campus in Saar.
The first BHA tournament of the season featuring 10 teams from five countries, was held under the patronage of the General Secretary of the Bahrain Olympic Committee H.E. Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The goal in the final came after eight minutes of the ten-minute first half through WHC captain Waseem Ahmed who is Pakistan’s most capped player. In the second half, WHC doubled their lead after Farouk Ahmed combined with another Pakistan international to slot home the goal after four minutes. Playing on artificial grass, Wanderers created few chances even when 2-0 down and WHC could easily have increased their lead. WHC’s squad included Waseem Ahmed, Basil, Farooq Ahmed, Nasir Ahmed, Zeeshan Tariq, Mubashar Ali Khan, Uzair Ahmed, Kashif Ali and Ataul Munim. Wanderers, captained by Ryan Dias, also comprised of Manos Sutar, Juned Coutinho, June D’Souza, Sano Nayak, Stephen Menezes, Shannon George, Ronald Fernandes, Ashley Sequeira and Ausprio Rodrigues.
The third place play-off was won by Sharjah Youth Hockey (SYH) of the UAE 3-2 on penalties against Bahrain’s Dadabhai Travels. In the semi-finals, WHC crushed Dadabhai Travels 6-1 and Wanderers won 2-0 against SYH to book their places in the final.
Action got underway with two groups of round-robin matches comprising Group A - Kuwait Independence Hockey and Don Bosco from Kuwait, WHC, Wanderers and Bahrain’s Public Security to determine the knockout phase. In Group B, the teams were SYH and four Bahraini teams - Design Hub, Royal Challengers, Aramex and Dadabhai.
After its conclusion, Shaikh Ahmed distributed trophies and medals to the top three teams, individual awards to players, organisers and the two highly qualified professional Indian umpires from Mumbai with vast experience in several high profile leagues in India, namely Steven Pereira and Arthur Castelino. Apart from the hockey, food stalls, music DJs, shaded spectator seating and interactive games were available for the spectators.
Main sponsor of the event was Gulf Agency Company. The co-sponsors were Mathias Tourism, Gulf Weekly, Magnum Travel Services, Writer Relocations, Shoe Mart, KIA, BFC,
Udrive Rent-a-Car, InventHouse Advertising and Promotions, SIXT Rent-a-Car, Royal Bahrain Hospital, Coca-Cola, Sign Inn Promotion, Virgin Megastore ,Alosra and Al Abraaj Restaurant.
Individual awards: Fair Play: Dadabhai Travel. Most Valuable Player: Kashif Ali (WHC). Best Goalkeeper: Eddie (Dadabhai). Most Promising Player: Merwin Pereira (Dadabhai).