Kuala Lumpur, Mar 19: Malaysia has termed as "disappointing" India's decision to pull out of the Azlan Shah Cup Hockey tournament but decided not to invite any other country to participate in its place. "We (MHF) are very disappointed with the withdrawal but nothing can be done about it. We will not invite another team because the time for preparation is too short and it would not be fair to the other teams," Malaysia Hockey Federation secretary S Satguman was quoted as saying in 'The New Straits Times' daily today. The Indian government decided not to send the hockey team for the prestigious tournament starting in Ipoh, Malaysia, on March 22 to protest the recent ill-treatment of Indian IT professionals in that country. Over 200 Indian IT professionals working in Malaysia were harassed and their passports tampered with last Sunday by local police who alleged that all of them were illegal immigrants. Malaysia later expressed regret over the ill-treatment and announced an inquiry into the incident after India lodged a strong protest.
The MHF has rescheduled the matches for the tourney and submitted the revised fixture to the international hockey federation for approval.
Member of the Asian Hockey Federation and president of Singapore Hockey Federation, M Lukshumayeh, told a news agency that India's decision was disappointing and a loss to the sport. Bureau Report