ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) confirmed on Friday the national team would travel to India for the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy on August 1 after receiving permission from the national sports board.
The series is one of the major hockey events on the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) calendar. Besides Pakistan, other participating teams include India, South Korea, Japan, China, and Malaysia. Pakistan will start their campaign with a match against Malaysia on August 3, with the final of the event to be played on August 12.
On Thursday, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) issued a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for the national men's hockey team to participate in the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy, which starts in Chennai on August 3.
"The NOC was issued after getting clearance from the concerned ministries and other relevant authorities," PSB said in a statement.
Pakistan’s Geo News reported that three officials of the Pakistan team were still waiting for a visa.
Cricket, the country’s most popular sport, is a juggernaut when it comes to sponsorship, broadcasting rights and capturing the public’s imagination and has in recent years totally eclipsed other sports, even ones Pakistan excelled at. Field hockey, Pakistan’s national sport, once propelled the country to Olympic gold and global glory, but it has waned in popularity and participation. Pakistan dominated the squash world for decades, only to become a shadow of its former self.
In recent years, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has said there were plans to restructure the body and introduce a new sports policy to turn the tide on a decades-long decline of sports in the country, especially hockey.
Pakistan is now 18th in hockey rankings after being consistently among the top four and winning a record four World Cups. The nation has not won a single medal at the Olympics since 1992.
SQUAD
Muhammad Umar Bhatta (c), Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Sufyan Khan, Ehtsham Aslam, Osama Bashir, Aqeel Ahmed, Arshad Liaquat, Muhammad Imad, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Rana Abdul Waheed Ashraf (Vice Captain), Roman, Muhammad Murtaza Yaqoob, Muhammad Shahzaib Khan, Afraz, Abdul Rahman, while the standby includes Ali Raza, Muhammad Baqir, Muhammad Nadeem Khan, Abdul Wahab, Waqar Ali, Muhammad Arsalan and Abdul Qayyum.
PAKISTAN'S SCHEDULE
August 3 - vs Malaysia
August 4 - vs Korea
August 6 - vs Japan
August 7 - vs China
August 9 - vs India
