Pakistan avert Asian Games 2018 hockey boycott over allowance payments

A cyclist rides past an installation promoting the upcoming Asian Games, to be held in Jakarta and Palembang, during the weekly car-free day in Jakarta, Indonesia July 15, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside/Files

KARACHI: Pakistan has averted an Asian Games boycott by its hockey players after the country’s federation gave assurances that overdue daily allowances would be paid in full before the multi-sports event begins in Indonesia later this month.

The Pakistan men’s team are the most successful at the Asian Games with eight gold medals but players had threatened to skip the upcoming edition after not being paid their allowances for the last six months.

However, captain Mohammad Rizwan Senior said on Tuesday that Pakistan Hockey Federation President Khalid Sajjad Khokar had assured him unpaid allowances would be cleared before the August, 18 - September, 2 games and therefore the players would end their protest.

“We will clear all dues before going to Asian Games,” Khokar was quoted as saying by local media. “Unfortunately, our grant was stopped due to certain unknown reason.

“If we don’t get the money I will pay the players through my own means.