First female hockey official from Pakistan to work at a Commonwealth Games
Description:
Benish Hayat, the first female hockey official from Pakistan, will serve on the umpire panel for the 2017 Commonwealth Games. She is the sole Pakistani umpire on the umpire panel for the upcoming competition and the first female hockey umpire from the nation to oversee a major event.
In her playing career, Benish represented Pakistan ten times as a former hockey player. She competed for Pakistan in the 2006 Asian Games Qualifiers and helped the nation advance to the main competition despite placing fourth overall.
After hanging up her shoes from the sport in 2011, Benish started her career as an umpire in 2012. Since her first game as an umpire, she has gone on to referee 49 games, including the 2018 Women"s Asian Games in Indonesia. She was also chosen for the panel for the 2016 South Asian Games in India, however she didn"t work the competition.
Whether Benish will referee the men"s or women"s competition at the 2019 Commonwealth Games is not yet confirmed.
Birmingham will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games starting today. The field hockey tournament is set to start on July 29. The women"s final is slated for August 7 while the men"s final is set for August 8.
