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India is all set to hosts the 15th edition of Hockey World Cup starting January 13, 2023. As many as 16 teams will take part in the mega event. However, the four-time World Cup winner Pakistan won't feature in the high voltage event.
No, the political tension between the two nations is not the reason why Pakistan won’t be part of Hockey World Cup 2023. While Pakistan team was denied visa for Blind T20 World Cup 2022 which India won eventually, the reason why Pakistan hockey team will not be the part of World Cup is their failure to qualify for the big event as they could not finish in top four of Asia Cup.
“It is really unfortunate that a country like Pakistan is not part of the 16-team World Cup. We cannot get an easier opportunity of qualifying for the event. It was just a cakewalk, yet we missed it. As a former world champion, I feel really bad and depressed not to see Pakistan as one of the contesting teams in India," 1994 World Cup winner Junaid Khawaja was quoted as saying by Geo News.
In Asia Cup 2022, Pakistan was in the same group as India and Japan. The Group B clash against India ended in a 1-1 draw. They beat Indonesia by a massive margin of 13-0 but lost to Japan and got knocked out of the tournament.
Series of bad performances
The downfall of hockey in both India and Pakistan started in the last two decades of 20th century. While India lost to Pakistan in Asian Games 1982 by a big margin of 7-1, Pakistan lost in the Atlanta Olympics 1996. Pakistan could not qualify for the 2014 edition of the World Cup either. Pakistan have struggled to qualify for the Olympic games in the last few editions.
Sorry state of Hockey Federation
The reason behind Pakistan hockey's sorry state of affairs starts at grassroots level. The domestic circuit of hockey in Pakistan is nearly non-existent. There is barely any coverage of the sport from the media at this level.
The administration is in tatters due to widespread corruption in hockey federation. The former Dutch coach Siegfried Aikman returned home last month as he was not being paid his salary for last eight months.
In addition, a Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) source revealed that he was unhappy with "undue interference" from Pakistani coaches who are associated with national camp.
Earlier in 2019, Roelant Oltmans left the head coach post after an year of appointment due to corruption as well.
