Pakistan to take part in four-nation hockey tourney in India

LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has confirmed that the national team will take part in a four-nation hockey tournament to be held in India in September.

“The tournament is scheduled from September 19 to 26, immediately after the Asian Champions Trophy in China,” PHF secretary Asif Bajwa said.

“Basically all our attention is geared towards next year’s Olympics in London and we are trying to give our team maximum exposure at the international level,” he added.

Bajwa said that the appearance in the tournament, which will also feature the hosts, Argentina and New Zealand, was part of preparations for the Champions Trophy to be held in India in December, in which Pakistan has got a wildcard entry.

Last year also, Pakistan went to New Delhi twice to take part in the World Cup and Commonwealth Games but in both the tournaments they failed to make a mark, finishing at the bottom in the World Cup, while at sixth position in the Commonwealth Games.

Bajwa said that the PHF would soon be scrutinising the performance of the team on the recent European tour and would make decisions accordingly.

He admitted that clearance would be sought from the government for the four-nation tournament in India but didn’t foresee any problem.

“Last year also we got permission and clearance for the World Cup and Commonwealth Games,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the schedule for the first Asian Hockey Championships has also been announced, which will be played in Shanghai (China) from September 3-11.

And Bajwa said that the tournament, which will see the top six teams from Asia participating in it, will give the Pakistani team a chance to evaluate its performance.

“Playing against India, Korea, Malaysia, China and Japan will give our team good exposure and also allow the management to try out new players,” he said.

Pakistan will play Malaysia on September 3, China on 4, Japan on 6, Korea on 7 and India on 9.