India-Pakistan bilateral hockey series possible this year
To cash in on the traditional hockey rivalry between India and Pakistan, the national federations of both countries are mulling an annual bilateral series, starting as early as later this year.
The last such series was held in 2006, and enthused by the improved fortunes of their team under the guidance of coach Michael Nobbs, Hockey India is keen to exploit the marketing possibilities in the venture.
“Efforts in this direction have been going on for a year now,” Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra told Mail Today on Sunday.
“We will invite Pakistan Hockey Federation president Qasim Zia and secretary general Asif Bajwa to visit India for a detailed discussion on the bilateral calendar for the next three years,” he said.
Also on the agenda is a tournament featuring the top four domestic teams from both countries. “It will be a knock-out tournament with quarter-finals, semifinals and final,” said Batra.
There are plans to stage both the series alternatively in India and Pakistan, subject to government permission. If the security scenario in Pakistan does not allow the tournaments to be staged in that country, they could be held at a neutral venue.
Officials of both the federations will need to sit together and decide the best possible spot in the calendar for both the tournaments. “Nothing can be scheduled before the Olympics in July-August. There is also the inaugural Hockey India League in January next year. There is scope to hold the tournaments between the two events, but we will also have to look at the international calendar and give our players suitable rest after the London Games,” Batra said.
An agreement to hold regular bilateral series between the two teams was signed during the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi, but there was no further progress in that direction.
The series till 2006 were held when the Indian Hockey Federation was in charge of affairs. “This will be the first such initiative since Hockey India was set up,” Batra said.
India won the bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, while Pakistan finished as wooden spooners in the seventeam tournament. Nobbs has often said that India need to play the top sides frequently to improve further.
But Batra said matches between India and Pakistan always draw big crowds, regardless of the rankings of the two teams. “It is a traditional rivalry and there is always a great fascination when these two teams take the field against each other,” he said.
The match between the arch rivals at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was a riveting affair which the Indians won courtesy a late strike by SV Sunil.