Islamabad, July 08: Two-time champions Pakistan are considering participation in this year's Azlan Shah Cup, but only if its new dates will suit their programme, says a top hockey official. The team has very tight commitments for the second half of this year, it can go to Malaysia if tournament organisers manage to come out with suitable dates, the news, quoting Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Musarratullah Khan, reported today.
The fate of this year's Azlan Shah Cup -- a major annual event on the international circuit -- is in jeopardy after four of the five teams invited for the tournament by the Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) declined to come.
Only South Korea said they were willing while world champions Germany, Holland, Spain and Argentina decided against it. Pakistan, champions in 1999 and 2000, were not even invited for the tournament that was scheduled to be played in Kuala Lumpur from July 7 to 15. The PHF thought that Pakistan would be busy making preparations for the Commonwealth Games to be held from July 25 to August 4 and would therefore be unable to play in the Azlan Shah Cup.
However, the PHF officials were unhappy at being overlooked and even wrote to the MHF about the way they felt.
''We told the MHF that they should have asked us first and then decided whether we would be able to play in their tournament or not,'' said Khan.
Bureau Report