By Ijaz Chaudhry
Dar HA Studded Customs Team- Winner Pakistan's 68th National Championships
Dar Hockey Academy was established in 2006 by Tauqeer Dar, an Olympic gold medallist from 1984, following a suggestion from his father, Munir Dar, who won gold in the 1960 Olympics. Located in Lahore, the academy began with just seven boys. Over time, it expanded its talent recruitment efforts across the country. Outstation boys are offered boarding and lodging at the academy hostel in Lahore and are enrolled in local schools.
A dedicated team of experienced coaches trains the boys. Notable names who have served as the head coach include the late Akhlaq Ahmad (Olympic bronze medallist) and now Danish Kaleem (World Cup winner).
Dar Hockey Academy not only focuses on training but also provides ample competition for its players, locally and internationally. Players actively compete for their respective school teams, with notable success at the Model High School, Model Town. This team, comprising solely of Dar Hockey Academy students, has repeatedly triumphed in the Jaffar Memorial tournament, Punjab's most distinguished school competition.
In recent years, the academy boys have primarily been enrolled in the Divisional Public School (DPS), also the alma mater of Tauqeer Dar. DPS has achieved victories in the Jaffar Memorial Tournament, including a remarkable hat trick.
Additionally, players from the academy are part of various local clubs, such as Nobel Hockey Club, BK Club, and Model Club, which regularly compete in local and outstation tournaments, winning multiple accolades, including the Lahore District Club Championships.
Academy players are frequently selected for departmental, city, and provincial teams participating in national senior and age-group championships. In fact, all the semifinalist teams over the last six national senior and five national junior championships included Dar HA players.
Since 2008, academy teams have also embarked on training tours to several major hockey countries, including Holland (six visits), Belgium (three visits), Germany (three visits), India (once), and Malaysia (once).
As a result, Dar Hockey Academy has, for the past 15 years, emerged as the largest source of talent for the national and age-group teams of Pakistan.
The academy stands out as an impressive example of success, being fully supported by private sponsors without any financial aid from the government or federation. As a result of its remarkable achievements, the academy has attracted increasing patronage from multinational companies and individual donors, including Pakistani expatriates, establishing itself as a role model for all sports in Pakistan, not just hockey.
2024-2025 has proven to be particularly memorable, with the academy experiencing unparalleled success in its short but illustrious history.
As in previous years, Dar HA players have been prominently featured in all national teams: two players in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, three in the FIH Nations Cup, three in the Asian Champions Trophy, five in the Junior Asia Cup, and six in the Junior Test Series against Germany.
The academy's dominance in the national scene has been astounding. During the 68th National Hockey Championships in Karachi, seven of the fourteen participating sides fielded Dar HA boys. Remarkably, all these teams advanced to the quarterfinals, with seven of the eight quarterfinalists showcasing talent from Pakistan's top hockey school. Among the 25 Dar academy players competing in the nationals, the eventual champions, Customs, fielded the highest number at eight. Additionally, the team’s manager Irfan Butt, head coach World Cup winner Danish Kalaeem, and video analyst Sultan Ashraf all hold the same positions at the Dar Hockey Academy.
It's important to highlight that the Customs team, which has an impressive record of nine national championships—second only to PIA—was reestablished in 2023 after an absence from the nationals for 11 years. The driving force behind this revival is Tauqeer Dar, the dynamic President of the Dar Hockey Academy. A retired Customs officer and Olympic gold medalist, Tauqeer was part of the Customs hockey team during its glory days. He persuaded the Customs leadership to reinstate the department’s hockey team in 2023.
After a brief 10-day training camp overseen by Dar HA head coach Danish Kaleem, the newly formed Customs team managed to secure third place in the 2023 national championships. This time, in 2024, they became national champions for the first time in 36 years.
Just a few months before, the National Junior Championship in Islamabad was also a showcase for the Dar Academy. Of the 16 competing teams, 10 included 23 players from Dar HA. All four semifinalists featured Dar HA talent, with Customs again leading the way, as the eventual winners fielded six players from Pakistan’s premier hockey nursery. The successful trio of Danish Kaleem, Irfan Butt, and Sultan Ashraf, who mentored the Customs team at the nationals, also guided the junior team to victory. This marked the first time in over 30 years that teams from the same department or region had won the national senior as well as the junior title.
Lower down the ladder, come the club competitions.
The 2nd COAS National Inter-Club Hockey Championship was participated by 527 clubs from 57 districts across Pakistan, according to the information from the PHF.
The event unfolded in four rounds, beginning with the district club championship, with the winning teams advancing to the Divisional Round.
The BK Club, entirely made up of players from the Dar HA, claimed victory in the Lahore district club championship. BK Club is named in honor of the late Billu Khan, a dedicated grassroots coach who significantly contributed to the early years of the Dar Hockey Academy.
In the Divisional Round, champions from the four districts in the Lahore division faced off, with BK Club again emerging victorious, moving on to the Provincial Round.
This phase included champions from Punjab’s nine divisions, where the top four teams, including BK Club, qualified for the final stage.
The National Round featured 10 teams representing the four provinces and the capital territory. The BK Club displayed great form, winning all their pool matches and defeating Civil Quarters from Peshawar in the semifinals. The championship final against the Bahawalpur Tigers was highly competitive. While BK Lahore created numerous scoring opportunities, they couldn’t find the back of the net, resulting in a 0-0 draw at the end of regulation time. Unfortunately, BK lost in the shootout. Finishing second among 527 teams in the national club championship is some achievement.
To encourage new talent, the COAS Inter-Club championship set rules limiting clubs to a maximum of four departmental players and five players over the age of 21. Dar HA’s BK Club had a lineup filled with promising talent, including 14-year-old Taimoor Shiraz, the grandson of Olympic silver medallist Khurshid Azam from 1964. Taimoor made a significant impact by scoring crucial goals.
Earlier, international star Sufyan Khan made history by winning the FIH Rising Star of the Year award (2024), becoming the first Pakistani to earn an FIH award in any category.
During the 2024-25 season, the boys from Dar Hockey Academy enjoyed remarkable success, representing Pakistan in international events (both senior and junior), as well as excelling in national championships (senior and junior) and the National Club Championship, alongside individual accolades.
Truly, it felt like their achievements were "Scripted in the Heavens."
Ijaz Chaudhry writes on hockey & other sports. For more about him & his work, visit http://www.sportscorrespondent.info