The Hindu

New Delhi: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Monday said the clash of dates with the money-spinning Indian Premier League was not the sole reason for advancing next year’s hockey World Cup in India.

The World Cup was originally scheduled in the capital from March 7 to 20 but the FIH advanced it by a week to avoid a clash with the third season of the IPL slated for March 12-April 25.

“The reason the FIH advanced the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 was not only for the IPL, but also for other sporting events worldwide. The World Cup is a tournament that will have a lot of interest from many countries, not only India. After analysing the situation, the dates February 28-March 13, 2010 turned out to be the best options,” an FIH spokesperson said. — PTI