Hockey players Afshan Noreen and Tehmina Zehra are currently playing for as members of the Brothers Hockey Club team in Cairns, Queensland.
Both the players have been part of the women's national hockey squad of Pakistan.
According to Afshan Noreen, sport runs in the family. Her brother plays cricket for the national team in Pakistan.
Source: Supplied
“I started playing in 2012. I was inspired by my brother. So I decided to play Hockey for the national team. During my time at Cairns, I would like to improve my speed and power along with my passing skill.
"I will be playing for the club and look forward to scoring a few goals."
"The people in Australia are friendly, loving and cooperative. It is like a home.”
Tehmina Raza has been playing Hockey since the age of 16 and wants to do well for Pakistan.
“It is a very important game for me and my country. During my time at Cairns, I would like to improve my goalkeeper skills and even my communication skills.
"I would also like to improve my understanding of Australian Hockey and pass on my knowledge and experience to my teammates.
"When we go back to Pakistan, we will leave with much love and a fantastic experience.I also plan to share my experience with school kids back home, and the other goal-keepers in Pakistan.
"It has been one of the best experiences of my life."
Cairns Hockey invites players from various hockey playing regions in the world. Players from Ireland, Argentina, United States, England and Pakistan participate all year round.
According to President of the Cairns Hockey Association, Dr Robert Pozzi, the club is looking to be Australia’s leading hockey region by 2020 and to do this needs to create high-quality hockey programs on and off the field.
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“Inviting players from a variety of countries and cultures provides the Cairns hockey members a real opportunity to play with quality hockey players from different countries and different cultures.
'It is also about building relationships and increasing awareness through the community of hockey worldwide with the view of accessing return opportunities for our members and developing opportunities for hockey teams to travel to Cairns and experience quality training camps, visit the ancient rainforests and reef experiences and providing economic and cultural benefits to our local community.
'It aligns with the $2.7m improvements we are making to our facility to entice national and international hockey playing teams to Cairns and experience the beauty of the Reef and Rain-forest while being able to improve their hockey or prepare for events.”
