The closing ceremony of the 3rd Chief of the Naval Staff All Pakistan Hockey Tournament was held at Abdul Sattar Edhi International Hockey Stadium, Karachi. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi graced the occasion as the Chief Guest along with President Pakistan Hockey Federation Brigadier (R) Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, Secretary-General PHF Olympian Asif Bajwa, Olympian Islahuddin, Olympian Samiullah, Olympian Hanif Khan. The special guest distributed prizes among the winners and runner-up teams.
In the 3rd Chief of the Naval Staff All Pakistan Hockey Tournament, 8 top national teams competed for the tournament title which included WAPDA, Mari Petroleum Company Limited, National Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Army, Punjab and Port Qasim Authority. The final of the tournament was played between the teams of WAPDA and National Bank of Pakistan. Navy achieved third position.
Defending champion National Bank of Pakistan received a cash prize of Rs 1.7 million for winning the championship. WAPDA and Pakistan Navy bagged the second and third positions respectively with a prize money of Rs 1.3 million and Rs 1 million respectively. Muhammad Iqbal of Navy was declared the best goalkeeper and Dilbar of the National Bank of Pakistan team was declared the best scorer of the tournament; 125 cc motorcycles were awarded to them as prizes.
The seven-day event, which is held from September 21 to 28, 2021, has been a nationally prestigious tournament since 2016. After 12 pool matches, the tournament had 2 semi-finals and the final match was played under the supervision of professional umpires and technical officials of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). With a prize money of Rs 4.2 million, this event had the highest prize money among all of the national level events. More than 128 talented athletes of the country participated in this prestigious event.
In his concluding remarks, the guest of honor congratulated the winning teams and appreciated the efforts of Patron Pakistan Navy Hockey, Commander Karachi, Pakistan Hockey Federation and sponsors. The event held under the high hopes that holding it would increase the interest of the people in the national game and would revive the game of hockey in the country. The Naval Chief appreciated the role of media in promoting sports in the country, especially in promoting the 3rd Chief of the Naval Staff All Pakistan Hockey Tournament. The Chief Guest, Chief of the Naval Staff, expressed the hope that national and private institutions would also play a vital role in the promotion of the national game. The event was attended by a large number of civil, military dignitaries and former Olympians.
