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The 2025 Men’s Hockey Asia Cup is all set to take place next month and India is hosting the continental competition, this time. A month prior to the tournament, the participation of Pakistan has become suspenseful. The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has informed the sport's global governing body International Hockey Federation (FIH) that it will be ‘difficult’ for them to send a team to India. Tariq Bugti, the head of PHF, said they have penned a letter to the FIH and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and conveyed their reservations over sending the side to India.
“We have informed them that in the existing scenario, our team will face security risks playing in India. We have informed them our players are also not keen to travel to India for the Asia Cup which is also a direct qualifying tour,” said Bugti. The PHF chief also said that now it’s upto FIH and AHF to take the decision on the tournament and Pakistan’s scheduled games. "We have asked them to let us know what guarantee is there that our players will be safe in India and will be able to focus on the tournament,” added Bugti.
PCB also refused to send Pakistan Cricket Team in the World Cup 2023 but relented later
This isn’t the first time, any sporting cricketing body has refused to send a team to India for a major sporting event. In 2023, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had also threatened to not send the Pakistan Cricket Team to India for the Cricket World Cup 2023.However, later the PCB relented and sent their team to India for the massive 50-over cricketing event.
Earlier, PHF's secretary Rana Mujahid had remarked that it is their right to demand a neutral venue for the Asia Cup. "If the (Pakistan) Government will demand for the neutral venue, we will do that, if the Government will instruct us not to go, we won't go. Whatever the authorities will tell us, we'll do that, said Mujahid"
