Pakistan unlikely for Asia Cup hockey, may miss junior WC too

Kolkata: The Pakistan hockey team's participation in Asia Cup, scheduled in Rajgir, Bihar, from Aug 27 to Sept 7 is unlikely following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives and left scores wounded.Not only the continental meet, which will serve as a qualifier for the 2026 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup, Pakistan's participation in Junior World Cup to be held in Chennai and Madurai later this year, is also under cloud.Speaking exclusively to TOI, Hockey India (HI) secretary general Bhola Nath Singh said they are awaiting every move by the govt on its foreign policy on Pakistan."We are continuously reviewing it and will await further guidance from the govt before taking any decision at the appropriate time," Singh said.According to the sources, HI also had to move the Junior Men's World Cup pool draw, which was scheduled on May 5, to a later date because of likely visa issues for Pakistan-born Tayyab Ikram, the current FIH president.After the Apr 22 attack in Jammu & Kashmir, the Indian govt gave a ‘Leave India' notice to Pakistani nationals on short-term visas in the country and has also suspended issuing new visa services.While Pakistan's non-participation in the tournament will be embarrassing for Hockey India, it is unlikely to have any effect on the upcoming two events. Even in 2016, Pakistan were unable to take part in Junior World Cup held in Lucknow because of visa issues and Malaysia had replaced them on the basis of ranking.International Hockey Federation (FIH) had then said in a statement, "Earlier today the FIH invited the Malaysian junior men's team to take part in the Uttar Pradesh Hockey Junior World Cup Men, Lucknow 2016, being held in India from 8 to 18 December. The late invitation came after FIH had to officially withdraw Pakistan's invitation to the event."Something similar is also expected to happen this time around. "If Pakistan withdraws from the Men's Hockey Asia Cup, Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) would likely replace them with the next highest-ranked team from the Asia region. This is solely upto AHF," the source added.The Pakistan men's hockey team last played in India in 2023 when they took part in Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai and fans and the administrators were certainly looking forward to their participation in the tournament this time around. They had also visited the country to take part in the 2018 World Cup, 2014 Champions Trophy and Junior World Cup in 2021.But as things stand, it's not going to happen again anytime soon.