PHF refuses participation in sports events in India
The government is yet to take a formal decision in the issue
LAHORE (Dunya News/APP) – Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has refused on Thursday to participate in all sports tournaments held in India.
After a briefing was given to the government officials in the issue, International Hockey Federation (IHF) was urged by Pakistan body to bar Indian from hosting any sports event.
However, the government is yet to take a formal decision in the issue.
The development has come in ahead of a hockey tournament that was scheduled in India while the blind cricket world cup is also to be held in the neighbouring country in January 2017.
Earlier today, head coach of Pakistan Junior hockey team, former Olympian, Tahir Zaman urged the International Hockey Federation to review its decision for allocating elite international hockey tournaments to India so that it should not deprive any team of participation the way it did in the case of Pakistan by not issuing visas to the junior team.
“Indian authorities deprived Pakistan junior team of taking part in the Junior World Hockey Cup, commencing in Lucknow from December, by not issuing visas without any valid justification or reason,” he told the media here on Tuesday at National Hockey Stadium.
He said that the PHF applied for the visas of the team weeks ago but the Indian authorities mixed politics in sports and did not issue visas which clearly shows the intention of the Indian authorities that they want to keep Pakistan team away from the World Junior hockey cup.
“They (Indian authorities) have given an excuse that we (PHF) did not apply for the visas timely, whereas they have included Malaysia in place of Pakistan and with few days left in the start of the Cup how would they be able to grant them (Malaysia) visas,” he questioned.
