WORLD HOCKEY SERIES IN LAHORE: Cancellation brings bad name to Pakistan: minister

ISLAMABAD: As the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) meets a dead-end on the administrative front following the cancellation of the World Hockey Series, Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Dr Fehmida Mirza termed it a setback for the game’s development and has left a big question mark over the federation’s ability to deal with international bodies.

The world event that was scheduled to be held from September 26-30 in Lahore was cancelled after almost every participating team refused to travel to Pakistan.

Talking to ‘The News’, Fehmida said that federation’s failure to hold the international event has brought bad name to Pakistan.

“It is the federation’s job to ensure holding such events. It is the federation that keeps liaison with other federations and international bodies. The government has nothing to do with it. We are there only for their support which we have been doing for the past so many years. Cancellation of the event is very unfortunate,” she said.

The minister said that federations were meant to protect the image of the nation and that was only possible by developing good relations with the international bodies.

“All the federations must revisit their priorities. These federations must do what these are supposed to do,” she said.

After failing to perform in all international hockey events during the last three years, the federation has failed on administrative front also by failing to convince international teams to travel to Pakistan for the event.

Barring Kazakhstan all the other participating teams of the World Hockey Series have refused to travel to Pakistan for the tournament forcing the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to cancel the event. Oman, Qatar, Bangladesh Sri Lanka and even Afghanistan’s federation has expressed inability to send their teams to Pakistan on one pretext or the other. Apparently, these federations have termed lack of finances and lack of security as the reasons for not travelling to Pakistan.

When the event was allotted to Pakistan almost six months back, the PHF officials were seen boasting their achievements of attracting international teams without realising that it required good liaison and continuous support of the FIH and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) to ensure the event in Pakistan.

Though the AHF has already distanced itself from the event, cordial relations between the PHF and AHF could have proved beneficial.

The PHF is under considerable pressure these days as back-to-back poor performances at international level have already demoralised officials to the extent that most of them have started making one excuse or the other for such a pathetic show.

Following last finish in the Champions Trophy, the national outfit finished seventh in Commonwealth Games and fourth in Asian Games held recently in Jakarta (Indonesia). Pakistan has also failed to earn a place in Youth Olympics behind Bangladesh and India.

Teams’ reluctance to travel to Pakistan for World Hockey Series is yet another blow to PHF management. It is yet to be seen as what measures the PHF would take to convince the FIH to reorganise the event on any later stages in Pakistan.