PM Shehbaz Sharif Hands Out Rs 1.5 Million Each to Hockey Boys
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has signed off on giving every player in the Pakistan men’s hockey team 15 lakh rupees each. It’s all because they made it through to the 2026 Hockey World Cup. Word came out yesterday, 9 March, from the PM House and Radio Pakistan ran the story straight away.
They Were Losing Badly Then Turned It Around vs Japan
It happened just three days back on the 6th in Egypt. Semi-final against Japan at that stadium in Ismailia by the Suez Canal. Pakistan was 3-1 down when the last quarter started. Nobody gave them much chance. But the lads kept pushing, banged in three goals inside nine minutes, and suddenly it was 4-3. Game over. Ticket to the World Cup punched. Belgium and Netherlands are putting it on together next August.
First Time Back Since 2018 – Missed the Last Two Cups
Pakistan hasn’t been at the World Cup since 2018. They couldn’t get there for the 2014 one in Holland or the 2023 one in India either. People of a certain age still talk about the glory days – winning it four times: ’71, ’78, ’82, ’94. So yeah, this feels like the start of something coming back.
PM Says This Will Get Kids Playing Hockey Again
The Prime Minister came out and said the boys showed proper guts, stuck together and never gave up. He reckons this win is going to help bring hockey back into the spotlight in Pakistan. Already you can see people getting excited again, and he hopes it’ll push more young ones – especially the schoolboys – to grab a stick instead of just watching cricket.
