KOLKATA: Despite the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams having decided not to play in each other’s country following India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy that concluded last month, it was announced on Monday that Pakistan men’s hockey team will visit India to take part in the Asia Cup to be held in Rajgir, Bihar, from August 29 to September 7 at the newly-built sports complex.
Pakistan had last visited India to take part in the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai in 2023 and finished fifth in the six-team event.
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Speaking of their participation, Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said, “Any match between India and Pakistan anywhere in the world is always exciting and good to watch. In 2023 also, when the ACT was held in Chennai, the two teams played a good game. I expect it to be similar when the two teams face off in Rajgir for which the fans would come in numbers.”
It’s not just the Pakistan men’s hockey team that has been regularly visiting India — 2018 World Cup, 2014 Champions Trophy, Junior Hockey World Cup 2021 — but the Indian Davis Cup team also toured Pakistan last year. The Pakistan football team also came down in 2023 to take part in the SAFF Championship. The same year, an Indian team competed at the Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle-East Championships (BFAME) in Lahore, winning fou gold medals.
Besides Pakistan, India will host six more teams at the event, including Japan, South Korea, China and Malaysia. The remaining two teams will secure their spots through the qualifying tournament, the AHF Cup.
While Rajgir has already hosted the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy last year, this event will be a bigger challenge for the state, as well as Hockey India.
