Sikh Union Nairobi’s New Turf Hosts Africa Hockey Qualifiers

Olympian Avtar Singh Sohal and his parent club, Sikh Union Nairobi, had reason to celebrate after the club hosted two major African hockey tournaments within three months of commissioning a new deep blue synthetic surface at its Dasmesh Stadium.

The venue hosted the Youth Africa Cup and the Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifying Tournament for boys and girls, with both Kenyan teams securing qualification for the World Cup scheduled to be held later this year.

The installation of the deep blue surface had been a long-standing goal of Sohal, a five-time Olympian, who wanted the facility completed in conjunction with Sikh Union Club’s centenary celebrations. Despite challenging weather conditions and other difficulties, the new surface was commissioned in time for the semifinals and finals of the Sikh Union Club Centenary Hockey Tournament in May.

With the installation, Sikh Union Club became the first club in Kenya, and reportedly among the first in Africa, to have the latest deep blue synthetic hockey surface. The facility also enabled the Kenya Hockey Union to host major International Hockey Federation (FIH) tournaments.

Less than three months after the surface was commissioned, the FIH allocated the Youth Africa Cup and the Hockey 5s World Cup Qualifying Tournament for Africa to Kenya, with Sikh Union Club’s Dasmesh Stadium selected as the venue.

Saif Ahmed, President of the African Hockey Federation, was the chief guest at the three-day tournament, which featured five teams in the boys’ competition and four in the girls’ competition. Ahmed also served as interim President of the International Hockey Federation for several months in 2022 following the resignation of India’s Dr. Narendra Batra from the FIH’s top position.

Kenya captured the boys’ title with a closely contested 6-5 victory over South Africa in the final. The host team was the only side to remain unbeaten throughout the tournament. Nigeria secured the bronze medal with a 15-2 victory over Uganda.

In the girls’ competition, South Africa defeated Kenya 11-6 in the final, while Nigeria edged Ghana 4-3 to claim third place.

Based on their performances in the tournament, the boys’ and girls’ teams from both Kenya and South Africa qualified for the World Cup, scheduled to take place later this year.

During the event, Ahmed recognized Sohal for his contributions toward securing the deep blue synthetic surface for Sikh Union Club and felicitated the five-time Olympian.

Sikh Union Club President Nindi Chana and Centenary Celebrations Committee Chairman Manjinder Singh Bansal joined Sohal and Del Mudher in honoring Ahmed with a hat and a special commemorative volume released during the club’s centenary celebrations in May.

At an earlier event, Bansal also felicitated Sohal and the club’s Secretary-General, Del Mudher, in recognition of their contributions and service to Sikh Union Club.

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