2020 OLYMPIC GAMES HOCKEY: Pakistan to ask FIH for chance to qualify

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) will write to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) this week to request it to set a roadmap for the Greenshirts which will enable them to have a go at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualification.

Pakistan were not included amongst the teams named for back to back Olympic qualifiers and it will be no less than a miracle if the former world and Olympic champions qualify for the mega event.

“It’s a shock for us that we have been left out of all the qualifying events mainly due to our failure to honour the FIH Pro League commitments. Our qualification has been left to the condition of improvement in rankings which is a tough ask considering the fact that Pakistan have hardly any tournaments to play in these months,” PHF Secretary Asif Bajwa said on Saturday.

The FIH has set September as the last month to decide the teams qualifying for the Olympic Games.

The PHF secretary said he would write a letter to FIH President Narinder Batra this week, requesting him to reconsider Pakistan’s case keeping in mind the country’s contributions towards promotion of hockey.

“Pakistan has served the sport in thick and thin. It is due to Pakistan and India’s contributions that hockey flourished internationally in the sixties and seventies. Pakistan initiated the World Cup, Junior World Cup and Champions Trophy and helped the sport take root in Olympics. Pakistan needs special treatment in this hour of need,” Bajwa said.

The PHF secretary admitted that pulling out of the FIH Pro League was one of the biggest mistakes the federation made. “Initially, there was no need to sign the MoU to play the Pro League.

“I am at loss to understand as to why the MoU was signed at a time when the Pro League was to be played on home and away basis. It would have been a better option not to sign it and instead should have preferred playing hockey series. When teams are reluctant to travel to Pakistan, there was no use to become part of such a venture,” he said.

Bajwa said the FIH would be requested to consider Pakistan’s case sympathetically as pulling out of the Pro League was something beyond the PHF’s control at that time.

“Pakistan has always honoured international commitments. Not to play the Pro League was something that was related to scarcity of funds. The PHF should not be blamed for it. The government stopped funds and Pakistan had no option but to withdraw.

“What we want is to make the FIH realize that Pakistan is an important hockey playing nation and as such should be given an opportunity to try to qualify for the Olympic Games,” Bajwa said.