FIH withdraws men's Olympic qualifiers from Pakistan

The International Hockey Federation has decided to withdraw one of the men's Olympics qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics scheduled to be held in Pakistan on Tuesday.

The reason cited by the international body was non-cooperation and interference in the daily affairs of the Pakistan Hockey Federation.

It is worth noting that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) was suspended by the country's Sports Board (PSB) and fresh elections were ordered last month.

As per the PSB, a state-owned institution, PHF was suspended with an immediate effect on the orders of outgoing Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who signed the order on his last day in office.

The suspension of the Pakistan Hockey Federation has played a major role in the decision taken by the International body.

Earlier in July, FIH announced that China, Pakistan, and Spain will host the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers taking place from 13 to 21 January 2024. Lahore was selected as one of the men's qualifying tournaments.

The Olympic qualifiers would have marked the return of a major international event in the country after 20 years as the last major event hosted by Pakistan was the Hockey Champions Trophy in 2004.

Pakistan men's hockey team will travel to Hangzhou, China for the upcoming Asian Games from 23rd September.

While there has been no announcement from FIH regarding the new host, it remains to be seen if FIH can reinstate Pakistan after PHF has a new administrative body.