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Hockey is becoming popular in Qatar
The Al Rayyan stadium in Doha has undergone a massive upgrade of multimedia and broadcast cables to HD sound and vision preparing for bigger events / Draka Communications

DOHA: The news of Doha winning the right to host the Asian Champions Trophy and inaugural World League, both this year, is a huge boost for hockey in Qatar.

Ever since the 2006 Doha Asian Games, the game has been making rapid strides in our country. The interest grew by leaps and bounds especially after the formation of the Qatar Hockey Federation (QHF) in ’09.

The successful organisation of five editions of the League, which has just seen a new champion side, as well as friendly matches between Indian Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines and Test series between Pakistan and the Netherlands all have helped the cause.

One of the main reasons behind the boom is the synthetic turf at the Al Rayyan Stadium, which has quite often been used as a training base by big teams in the past, just like England did before the ’10 World Cup in India.

The QHF added another feather to its cap on Tuesday when the national team played its first-ever Test match, against Oman. Qatar are also scheduled to host a Test series against Brazil in April. And I feel the sport’s future in the country looks bright.

Contrary to popular perception that it’s a sport being played by the expatriates, I strongly believe that there’s more local involvement now. The QHF has been making every possible effort to attract more people to the sport, as is evident from projects like ‘Aiming for 1,000-feet’.

The salient features of the project, which include distribution of equipment to schools, support of FIH-trained coaches and opportunity for students to avail of the QHF’s facilities at Rayyan, will go a long way in increasing the game’s popularity among the nationals. Its short duration is sure to appeal to them, and gradually we can develop a good national side and make a mark at least in Asia.