Pak teams will come for Asia Cup, Junior World Cup in India: HI
CHENNAI: After weeks of uncertainty surrounding their participation and mixed signals, it is now official that the Pakistan hockey team will take part in both major tournaments – the
Asia Cup
and the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup — in India.
The Asian meet is set to be held in Rajgir from August 27 to September 7, while the Junior World Cup will take place from November 28 to December 10 across two venues: Chennai and Madurai.
Confirming the development, Hockey India (HI) treasurer and president of the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Sekar J Manoharan, told TOI that both the senior and junior teams from Pakistan have applied for visas.
'Pakistan's teams will definitely be coming.
They've already submitted visa applications. The senior men's team has applied with a contingent of 18 players and seven support staff,' Sekar said after the inauguration of the Sub-Junior Men's National Hockey Championship here on Monday. Sekar also mentioned that the Indian junior team will arrive in Chennai in the first week of October for its preparatory camp.
Earlier, there had been indications that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) might not send teams for the upcoming tournaments in India.
It was speculated that the PHF had written to the FIH (International Hockey Federation) and the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF), expressing their reservations over sending the teams to India.
HI President Dilip Tirkey said the federation has not received any official communication yet. 'We too are hearing these talks, but we haven't received any news from the Pakistan team officially yet. If we do receive it, we will take it up with FIH and they will decide how to go about it,' Tirkey told TOI.
'Selectors told to act if form dips'
The India men's team endured a poor campaign in the recent FIH Pro League, finishing eighth and suffering seven straight defeats. Reacting to the dismal performance, Tirkey said the federation is in talks with head coach Craig Fulton and the selectors.
'The Pro League is very important for us. And now, we have more important tournaments coming up. If we see players who are not performing well and are unable to deliver, it's on the selectors to take a call.
And if there is a fall in form for some players who have been playing for a long time, we've told the selectors to watch out and take action.'
Govt backing key to hosting big events
After Chennai successfully hosted the Asian Champions Trophy in 2023, Tirkey said HI is confident of staging more marquee events here, thanks to strong support from the Tamil Nadu government.
'TN govt supported us very much last time when we hosted ACT. And where there's full support from the govt, we get the confidence to host international and domestic competitions. This is why we are hosting the Junior World Cup here. The Indian government knows how important security will be, so it will be given accordingly,' said Tirkey.
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