Pakistan to approach FIH for spot in hockey World Cup

October 9th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan will look to get the support of International Hockey Federation (FIH) chief Leandro Negre to pave the path for visit of international teams to Pakistan. Negre will be visiting the country starting Oct 13.

September 1st, 2009 CHENNAI - Nine of the 12 spots for the men's World Cup hockey tournament to be held in Delhi from Feb 28 to March 13 next year have been decided, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said Tuesday. India, who had finished a poor 11th at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, gained automatic qualification as the hosts, according to a statement from the FIH.

September 1st, 2009 KARACHI - Former hockey world champions Pakistan will feature in the first World Cup qualifying tournament to be held in Lille, France, from Oct 31. Pakistan, record four-time champions, will be the top seed in the event which will also feature Japan, hosts France, Poland, Russia and Italy (as reserve country).

August 21st, 2009 KARACHI - More than six years after launching a multi-million-rupee campaign to groom future champions, Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) President Arif Hasan has conceded that the country has little or no hope of winning an Olympic medal in 2012 in London. Hasan said that Pakistan's slim hopes of winning a medal in the 2010 London Olympics are pinned on hockey -- the sport that fetched the country all its four gold medals.

August 19th, 2009 KARACHI - Four-time champions Pakistan will be featuring in the World Cup hockey qualifiers for the first time and are aware that a failure will push their hockey to abysmal depths. "We have no option but to win the World Cup qualifying tournament, said Pakistan captain Zeeshan Ashraf, a seasoned defender.

August 1st, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan hockey legend Hassan Sardar believes a successful revival of the national game can happen with regular exchanges of home-and-away matches against old rivals India. Hassan, currently serving as Pakistan hockeys chief selector, said the two former Asian giants will have to play against each other regularly to lift the profile of the sport in the region.

July 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - It was a memorable reunion for the 1975 World Cup hockey team. The team led by Ajitpal Singh beat Pakistan in the final at Kaula Lumpur to win India's only World Cup.

July 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Two-wheeler major Hero Honda will be the title sponsors of the hockey World Cup to be hosted here in March next year. International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Lendro Negre and managing director and CEO of Hero Honda Motors Ltd Pawan Munjal signed a deal at an impressive ceremony attended by the members of the 1975 World Cup winning Indian team.

July 23rd, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan hockey is in turmoil again, nine months after a bunch of Olympians took over the reins of the national federation from former prime minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali. The country's parliamentarians have summoned Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Asif Bajwa July 30 after several episodes of mud-slinging between a few Olympians and the PHF top brass resulted in life bans on two former players.

July 14th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) will take legal action against former Olympian Mansoor Ahmad for defaming the national federation. "We are serving him a legal notice to pay Rs 100 million for defaming the PHF and its officials through his defamatory statements," a spokesman for the PHF said on Monday.

July 1st, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistans Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jilani blamed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for losing the 2011 World Cup hosting rights. After a meeting with Pakistan Sports Board in Islamabad, Jilani told reporters that those steering Pakistan cricket were responsible for failure to bring the World Cup 2011 matches back to the country.

June 27th, 2009 KARACHI/NEW DELHI - The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) says its national team is likely to play in a four-nation hockey tournament in New Delhi ahead of next year's World Cup while Hockey India (HI) says that's news to it. Pakistani media reports say the quadrangular tournament that is being planned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) ahead of next year's World Cup will help break the ice between Pakistan and India, who have suspended sporting ties in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

June 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has granted full-membership to the newly-formed Hockey India as the sole governing body for the game in the country. FIH secretary general Peter L Cohen in a letter to Hockey India June 14, said: "All the formalities required by the FIH Congress for the transfer of membership have been fulfilled and I am pleased to confirm that Hockey India is now formally recognised as a member of the FIH (in place of the Indian Hockey Federation) as the sole governing body for hockey, men and women, in India." Cohen said that the FIH Congress in Los Angeles in November last year had approved the transfer of membership from the Indian Hockey Federation to Hockey India.

June 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The newly-created Hockey India (HI) umbrella body has been formally recognised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), it was announced here Saturday. In the wake of severe criticism of the way the HI was set-up by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), HI officials called a hurried press conference Saturday to announce that it has got FIH approval.

May 26th, 2009 KARACHI - The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has withdrawn its team from next month's four-nation tournament in Moscow because India pulled out of the event. Shahid Ali Khan, Pakistan team's head coach said that his team will not be competing in the Moscow quadrangular next month because India's withdrawal from it will leave the field without any worthwhile competition, the News reported.