Neighbours absent, kebabs wait
For Shariq Khan and family, it turned out to be a big setback when they came to know about the non-participation of Pakistan in the Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup, beginning on December 8 in Lucknow.
They were in the process of making arrangements for some mouthwatering eatables for his distant cousin, who was one of the probables in the Pakistan squad. Visit of historical monuments like ‘Bhul Bhilaya’ at Bada Imambara was part of the plan, besides preparation of delicious ‘galawati kebabs’ at home.
He refused to name his cousin. “Now, it makes no sense to take his name, but we were really excited to greet him with our traditional Lucknowite culture.”
“It’s really disappointing as we were ready to give a warm reception to Pakistan side, including our distant cousin,” Shariq told HT soon after the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced withdrawal of its invitation to Pakistan following their failure to meet deadlines. Malaysia has instead been invited to take their place in the 16-team field.
FIH REGRETS
“FIH regrets that Pakistan’s men’s junior team will not be able to take part in this year’s Junior World Cup even though they had officially qualified,” said FIH release, adding, “FIH’S decision follows considerable discussions with the Pakistan Hockey Federation and requests for confirmation that they had the necessary arrangements in place to be able to participate.”
“For us, Pakistan too was welcomed like others. For this sudden development, PHF as well as the FIH are the better authorities to tell you the actual reasons behind this,” organizing secretary and UP Hockey’s secretary RP Singh told HT.
In fact, PHF had confirmed the participation of its team in the mega event here only last week when it announced to have the
clearance from the government.
DAMP SQUIB
Certainly, the absence of Pakistan team in the mega event, happening in India for the second time after New Delhi hosting in 2013, would cut short the number of fans for the mega event as for Lucknowites, a clash between India and Pakistan even between the junior sides means a lot.
India coach Harendra Singh refused to comment on the issue. “For us every team is equal and we have our own plans for all. If we had to play against Pakistan, we could have made our plans for them also. The issue is between PHF and the FIH,” he said.