Pakistan’s first-ever female hockey umpire, Benish Hayat, has been included in the umpire panel for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. She is the first female hockey umpire from the country to officiate a mega event and is the only Pakistani umpire to be included in the umpire panel in the upcoming competition.
Benish is also a former hockey player and represented Pakistan 10 times during her playing career. She was part of Pakistan’s squad in the 2006 Asian Games Qualifiers and helped Pakistan to qualify for the main tournament after finishing fourth in the qualifiers.
Benish began her umpiring career back in 2012, soon after hanging up her boots from the sport in 2011. She has gone on to officiate in 49 matches ever since her debut as umpire including the 2018 Women Asian Games in Indonesia. She was also selected in the panel for 2016 South Asian Games in India but did not officiate in the tournament.
It is not yet known whether Benish will officiate in the women’s tournament or the men’s tournament in the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games are set to commence from today in Birmingham. The field hockey competition is scheduled to begin on 29 July with the women’s final scheduled to be played on 7 August while the men’s final will be held on 8 August.
