Pakistan team arrives in Bhubaneswar for Junior Hockey World Cup
Pakistan team arrives in Bhubaneswar for Junior Hockey World Cup
admin
Bhubaneswar: The Pakistan men’s junior hockey team’s arrival in Bhubaneswar on Saturday to participate in the Junior Hockey World Cup is significant for one more reason.
It’s for the first time that a Pakistan hockey team is in India since 2018 after a gap of three years.
From November 24 to December 5, the Junior Hockey World Cup will be hosted in this city.
The Pakistani hockey team competed in the senior World Cup in India in 2018. Prior to it, they were in India in 2014 for the Champions Trophy.
In 2016, the year of the Pathankot and Uri assaults, as well as the surgical strikes, Pakistani players were denied visas for the Junior Hockey World Cup.
In 2019, Pakistan's shooting team was unable to compete in the World Cup in Delhi due to the same reason, virtually resulting in India's sporting isolation in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.
However, following concerns from the International Olympic Committee, the authorities stated that Pakistani athletes would not be barred from entering India.
At the IGI Airport in Delhi, a senior diplomat from the Pakistan High Commission welcomed members of the Pakistan men's junior hockey team. On Saturday, Aftab Hasan Khan, Charge d'Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission, arranged a lunch in their honour.
