Mumbai, Oct 24 (IANS) The International Hockey Federation (FIH) will soon be announcing a team to replace Pakistan in the Men’s Junior World Cup to be held in Tamil Nadu from November 28. The Pakistan Hockey Federation (FIH) has intimated the FIH that its team will not be travelling to India to participate in the event on the advice of its government.

“We can confirm that the Pakistan Hockey Federation has notified the International Hockey Federation (FIH) that its team, initially qualified for the upcoming FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025, won’t participate eventually. The team replacing Pakistan for this event will be announced soon,” the FIH informed IANS in a statement on Friday.

The late withdrawal leaves the FIH in a fix as it had delayed conducting the draw for the event to be held in Chennai and Madurai for nearly a month, allowing Pakistan time to consult its government on its participation. The FIH had gone ahead with the draw ceremony, usually conducted in the host city/country, in its headquarters in Lausanne.

The late replacement will not only mean the introduction of a lower-ranked team into the draw but also a team that is not fully prepared for the biggest event in the junior section.

According to reports, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) decided to withdraw its team after consulting its government and has sent an official intimation to FIH, which in turn will inform Hockey India.

This is the second event in India that Pakistan has withdrawn from after the Men’s Asia Cup in Rajgir, Bihar.

Pakistan were placed in Group B alongside India, Chile, and Switzerland. The replacement team will join Group B and will be picked from the standby teams as per their rankings.

A top PHF official said the decision was taken after consultation with the Pakistan government.

“We sought the advice of the government and Pakistan Sports Board, who have told us that under the current political tension, it will not be feasible to send the team to India for the Junior World Cup as it will be a big security risk,” a top official of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) said..

The official said the FIH has been informed about the decision, which will in turn convey the decision to Hockey India, the report added.

Pakistan also pulled out of the Asia Cup tournament in August, where they were replaced by Bangladesh. Pakistan’s pullout cost them a place in next year’s World Cup as the event was a qualifying round for the mega event.

–IANS

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