India hockey team barred from traveling to UK

ISLAMABAD: The decision by United Kingdom (UK) government to add India to the red list has barred Indian hockey team’s travel to the country hence the postponement of the FIH Pro League matches scheduled in Great Britain.

The FIH in its handout said that the Hockey Pro League matches between Great Britain and India, scheduled on May 8-9 in London, have been postponed.

This follows the recent decision by the UK government to add India to the red list of countries due to the current status of the Covid-19 pandemic. “FIH, Hockey India and Great Britain Hockey are monitoring the situation in a hope of rearranging these matches at a later date,” the FIH handout said.

India will still travel to Europe in May to play FIH Hockey Pro League matches against Spain (May 15-16) and Germany (May 22-23) while Great Britain will host Germany (May 12-13), USA (Women, May 22-23) and Spain (Men, May 22-23).

On a positive note, Australia and New Zealand are continuing their efforts to find dates for the matches between them following the announcement of a trans-Tasman travel bubble this week.