Hockey World Cup 2018: Pakistan will be welcomed in India, confirms FIH

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - India will be hosting the Hockey World Cup 2018 and will welcome all 16 participating teams including Pakistan at the marquee event which is scheduled to happen in Odisha from November 28 to December 16, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed on Thursday.

Pakistan qualified for the World Cup after finishing seventh in the Hockey World League semi-finals in London.

Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha in eastern India, will be hosting the 2018 World Cup, announced FIH President Dr Narinder Batra.

“Pakistan will be invited because it’s an FIH-sanctioned event. We have taken the necessary permissions from the external affairs ministry. There are certain rules and procedures in which participating nations have to apply for visas 60 days prior to the start of the tournament. There are other procedures which Pakistan will have to follow,” Batra said.

Earlier there were rumours that Pakistan will not participate in the World Cup due to the rife political tension with the neighbours but the FIH has now made it clear that they haven’t received any such request from any nation about pulling out of the competition.

The damp relations between India and Pakistan have deeply affected the sport’s ties between the two nations in the past few years with the Indian teams pulling out all a host of competitions scheduled in Pakistan. The same has been repeated by the Pakistani teams who did not travel to India citing political tensions.

India’s blind cricket team did not travel to Pakistan, forcing the venue to be shifted to the United Arab Emirates. Following which Pakistan’s kabaddi, squash and wrestling teams refused to take part in top tournaments in India.

Indian national cricket team and the Pakistan national cricket team are yet to play a bilateral series since 2013.