New Delhi: For the first time since 2018, the Pakistan men’s junior hockey team landed in national capital on Saturday for the Junior World Cup, becoming the 14th of the 16 teams to arrive in the country. The FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup will be held in Bhubaneswar from November 24 to December 5.
The visit of the PAK team came after INDIA-PAKISTAN have increased people-to-people exchanges, from restoring the Kartarpur corridor earlier this week to resuming hockey diplomacy after a three-year hiatus. The PAK team’s arrival also marked the beginning of pilgrim voyage.
Although, playing in Bhubaneswar for the tournament will be different because Pakistan had a contentious past at the city, with local hockey fans recalling Pakistan senior squad members’ violent and profane behaviour following their victory over hosts India in the 2014 Champions Trophy at the Kalinga Stadium.
Pakistan’s last appearance in India in any hockey event was in 2018 when the senior team participated in the men’s world cup in Bhubaneswar. Before that, the Pakistan squad was unable to compete in the Junior World Cup in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in 2016 (the year of the Pathankot, Uri followed by the surgical strikes) owing to an alleged delay on the side of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) in filing for the travel document, as cited by Indian High Commission.
Before heading to Bhubaneswar, the team visited their High Commission. Aftab Hasan Khan, Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission, also hosted a lunch in their honour on Saturday.
Pakistan are placed in Group D along with Argentina, Germany, and Egypt as other teams and will open their campaign against former champions Germany on November 24.
