A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on Friday said the training of its team for the Junior World Cup in the Indian city of Lucknow is in full swing, even as it awaited clearance from the government. Shahbaz Ahmed, Secretary of the PHF, said an unnecessary controversy had been created in the media whether Pakistan would participate in the Junior World Cup, to be played December 8-18 in India.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation dropped Mohammad Saqlain, Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmad, Ghazanfar Ali and Dilawar Hussain for failing to report for a preparatory camp.
Hockey is struggling to survive in the country because of lack of sponsors owing to the national team's poor show at the international stage.
Italy are gearing up for their Twenty20 World Cup debut, hoping a strong showing next month will help the sport break into popular culture in a soccer-obsessed nation that does not have a natural cricket pitch.
Pakistan's retired hockey international Rehan Butt, who was appointed coach of the national team taking part in the 12th South Asian Games, turned out as a player in the team's first two matches, including Monday's victory over hosts India.
Mohammad Saqlain will lead the Pakistan side in the hockey World Cup in Germany next month.
FIH president Tayyab Ikram asserted that the dynamics of the sport would not be compromised at any cost when they try out the proposed penalty corner rule.
The Odisha government claimed that it is the world's largest facility in terms of seating capacity and certified by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Rising political tension has adversely affected the bilateral sporting ties between India and Pakistan but newly-elected FIH chief Narinder Batra on Saturday said the two nations will have to honour their international commitments. The tension at the border has cast a shadow over Pakistan's participation in the next month's FIH Junior World Cup in Lucknow but Batra's comments make it clear that the two neighbours are set to clash against each other on Indian soil.
Defender Dilip Tirkey will lead the team for the four-Test series, starting on September 24.
India and Pakistan need to improve to survive in world hockey, thinks PHF secretary Akhtar Ul Islam.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Friday slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the India and Pakistan clash in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025.
'It is all about money (that BCCI wants to play Pakistan) but in times like these you have to rise above monetary gains'
The International Hockey Federation is planning to introduce two wild card entries in the Champions Trophy from next year which will increase the number of competing teams in the prestigious event from six to eight, Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Asif Bajwa said on Tuesday.
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey, on Wednesday, said that the national men's team will travel to Pakistan for qualifiers in case it fails to directly qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
They weren't up for a windfall even after the trophy but life was certain to get a lot better as some sponsors and state governments stepped up to lift them financially.
Upset over Pakistan's worst performance in a hockey World Cup, the national federation sacked its selection committee and team management while the entire 18-man squad resigned, owning moral responsibility for the shoddy show in the 12th edition of the tournament in Delhi.
It said Mohammad Saqlain accompany the team to Chennai for the Champions Trophy despite the three-match ban imposed on him.
The Azlan Shah Cup is the latest sporting event to be hit by the deadly coronavirus, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives and infected 86,000 people across the world.
Reigning silver medallists India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in a mouth-watering men's hockey contest of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
From its inception in 1971 till 1978, the World Cup was held every alternate year. Then it was made a once-in-four years affair, beginning with the 1982 edition.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has categorically said their players will not be a part of the $2 million World Series Hockey to be held in India from next month otherwise they might face ban from domestic Hockey.
Why India can't deny Pakistan entry to multi-lateral events on its soil
The Pakistan Hockey Federation, on Monday, threatened to impose five-year bans on players, who opt to play in the unsanctioned tournaments such as much-hyped World Series Hockey, planned in India.
The Indian Men's Hockey Team Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh opened up on the team's preparations for the upcoming 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation - International Tournament and Hero Asian Champions Trophy.
Sohail Abbas and Waseem Ahmed have been included in the squad for the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has imposed a hefty fine of Rs 10 lakh each on senior hockey players Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi for playing in the unsanctioned World Series Hockey in India.
World's leading goal scorer Sohail Abbas and former Pakistan captain Waseem Ahmed will add glamour to the Premier Hockey League.
The ace Pakistani drag-flicker has decided to return to international hockey and help Pakistan rediscover their winning ways.
Concerned by the terror attacks in Pune, Pakistan will send a two-member delegation to India to assess the security arrangements for the hockey World Cup starting on February 28 in Delhi.
Senior players Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi were on Wednesday dropped from the 18-member Pakistan squad for next month's Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia.
The Indian Hockey Federation is organising two exhibition matches, featuring top players from India and Pakistanl, and a host of film and television artists, in Chandigarh, on September 11.
Going by the hockey parent body's new data collection, India and Pakistan have met in only 47 head-to-head internationals and many more fails. Read on to find out how the history of this famed rivalry is being binned
The prestigious Champions Trophy, due to be held in Lahore in December, has been moved away from Pakistan due to safety and security concerns.
In what promises a rollicking start to next year's Hero Honda FIH Hockey World Cup, hosts India will take on archrivals Pakistan on the opening day of the mega-event, to be held in New Delhi from February 28 to March 13.
Pakistan Hockey Federation spokesman Altaf Sabir said the result could have gone in favour of other teams if the umpiring had been fair and just.
Former national coach Joaquim Carvalho has called for Hockey India secretary-general Narinder Batra's head for misleading the nation and vindictively keeping players who took part in the rebel World Series Hockey out of the country's London Olympics team.
The German was axed after the team slumped to fourth in the Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
The central government will have the power to "impose reasonable restrictions" on the international participation of Indian teams and individual athletes under "extraordinary circumstances", as per the National Sports Governance Bill that was tabled in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
