Pakistan out of Asia Cup 2025 as hockey tournament begins in India

Three-time champions Pakistan withdrew from the tourney implicit information concerns and were replaced by Bangladesh.

Pakistan volition miss the Asia Cup hockey tourney for the archetypal clip successful its past owed to information concerns arsenic the tourney begins successful India connected Friday.

The eight-nation tourney is being hosted successful Rajgir – a metropolis successful India’s northeastern authorities of Bihar – 3 months aft India and Pakistan returned from the brink of an all-out war connected their shared border.

The three-time erstwhile champions and 1 of the founding members of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) person been replaced by Bangladesh successful Group B of the upcoming tournament.

Pakistan’s omission from the contention was confirmed by Hockey India’s (HI) President Dilip Kumar Tirkey past week, citing the Pakistan Hockey Federation’s (PHF) concerns implicit their squad’s information successful India.

“Pakistan is not coming to this tourney owed to information concerns,” Tirkey told Indian quality bureau ANI.

Tirkey said the big federation “never refused” Pakistan the accidental to enactment successful the contention and that they person withdrawn of their ain accord.

Reports successful Pakistani media said the PHF informed HI and the AHF of their determination earlier successful August, portion their omission was confirmed erstwhile the tournament’s docket was announced past week.

India and Pakistan were engaged successful a four-day struggle successful May, their worst standoff since 1999, earlier a ceasefire was agreed. More than 70 radical were killed successful missile, drone and artillery occurrence connected some sides, but determination are competing claims connected the casualties.

Following the escalations, respective Indian media outlets reported that the country’s athletics bodies would debar being grouped with Pakistan astatine planetary athletics tournaments. However, some nations were allocated the aforesaid radical successful the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup hosted successful India – but with Pakistan playing its matches astatine a neutral venue.

The determination came connected the backmost of a communal statement – brokered by the ICC and signed by the cricket boards of some countries – to “host” its neighbour astatine a neutral venue astatine each aboriginal planetary cricket tournaments.

However, nary specified agreements were signed oregon brokered by officials for hockey tournaments.

Pakistan and India stock a affluent past successful planetary hockey competitions [File: R Parthibhan/AP]

Pakistan’s treble jeopardy

Pakistan, which past won the tourney successful 1989, volition miss retired connected an accidental to suffice for the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 by not participating successful the Asia Cup.

The Asia Cup champions volition gain a nonstop spot successful the 2026 World Cup, portion teams ranked 2nd to sixth volition participate the qualifiers. Pakistan are presently ranked 15th successful the FIH World Hockey rankings for men and person bleak prospects of qualifying for the World Cup.

Meanwhile, India volition relish the accidental to not lone triumph the continental rubric astatine location but besides publication their berth successful the World Cup, which volition beryllium co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands successful August 2026.

Defending champions South Korea volition besides beryllium among the favourites and volition people a record-extending sixth Asian crown. Malaysia, Japan, China, Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei are the different subordinate nations astatine the 2025 edition.

India’s skipper Harmanpreet Singh, left, is challenged by Pakistan’s Afraz during the men’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey lucifer betwixt India and Pakistan successful Chennai connected August 9, 2023 [File: R Parthibhan/AP]

Hockey is the nationalist athletics successful some India and Pakistan, and the 2 South Asian sides ruled the athletics until the aboriginal 1990s.

The 1947 partition of India that led to the instauration of Pakistan and gave commencement to a decades-long mostly governmental rivalry spilled implicit into sport.

Up until then, the then-Indian squad included players from some sides of the borderline that present divides them, and won golden astatine the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games.

Between them, India and Pakistan person won 11 Olympic golden medals, 5 satellite titles, 3 FIH Champions Trophy titles and fixed the satellite dozens of hockey legends.

The 2 countries past met connected the hockey tract successful the Asian Champions Trophy successful 2024, erstwhile India won 2-1 and went connected to assistance the title.