Pakistan will formally not be sending its junior field hockey team to the next FIH Junior Hockey World Cup in India, and Tariq Hussain Bugti, the president of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), confirmed the move on Tuesday. Officials justified that increasing political tensions between the two neighbours have rendered the participation across borders impossible.
The world tournament, which will take place November 28 through 10 in Chennai and Madurai, saw Pakistan drawn in Group B with India, Chile and Switzerland. India did not object, but the decision was left to the government of Pakistan who did not want to travel under the prevailing political conditions.
Bugti acknowledged that the decision will have some effect on the future of hockey in the country, but emphasized that security and political realities did not offer them any chance to compromise. When we are at war, he said, we can not get our boys across the border. The PHF has now contacted the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and will be looking at other avenues to make it to the senior World Cup.
Read more: Pakistan Withdraws from Hockey Tournaments in India
As the hosts of the first-ever Junior Hockey World Cup, Pakistan will now miss out on the event just three times, missing the 2001 and 2016 events, both of which were also connected to India. The PHF is optimistic that by playing in the Pro League it will help the Green Shirts regain momentum and continue to compete in the international hockey arena.
