MUMBAI: Less than a month before the Men’s Hockey World Cup kicks off in Bhubaneswar, India haven’t yet approved the visas for Pakistan’s players and support staff, throwing uncertainty over their participation in the marquee event, Times of India reports.
The archrivals’ frosty relations outside sport has haunted hockey as well as Pakistan struggled to obtain visas for participating in the Junior World Squash Championships in Chennai and the Asian Junior Wrestling Championships in Delhi earlier this year.
The country went as far as opting out of the Junior Hockey World Cup in 2016, having played their last match on Indian soil in December 2014. In the 2014 game, Pakistan had defeated India in the Champions Trophy final but not without courting controversy over making obscene gestures to the crowd.
However, for the upcoming tournament, India are reportedly considering issuing visas to Pakistan due to the ‘enormity of the multilateral event’. The International Hockey Federation (IHF) is in negotiations with top government officials for permission. An official announcement is expected to be made soon.
