India punished us for not apologizing for 2014 Champions Trophy incident: Pak Hockey Chief

01/24/2017

PHF chief Shahbaz Ahmad has claimed that they were barred from taking part in the Junior World Cup because India are still looking for an apology for the 2014 Champions Trophy incident. In 2014, Pakistani players had taken off their shirts and made obscene gestures after beating India in the semis.

According to Shahbaz Ahmad, Narendra Batra, the former head of Hockey India and the current president of the FIH, has repeatedly sought a formal apology from the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) for their players' behavior after their win over India in the 2014 Champions Trophy.

Ahmad went on to claim that the Pakistani team were not allowed to participate in the Junior World Cup, which took place in Lucknow in December last year, because of that incident. He said, "Batra still wants the apology although we feel that our team was not allowed to take part in the World Junior Cup held in India last month only because of this issue.

"They said we did not confirm our participation on time. We did not get visas from the Indian High Commission. But in the end, I got this feeling it was all due to that incident in 2014. Pakistan hockey was punished for it.”

Ahmad has expressed his disappointment at missing out on the chance to try out budding players during the World Cup. He also said that the previous PHF management had already apologized, albeit informally, and has hoped for a solution before the World Cup next year which will also be hosted in India.

"We had eyes on some of the players and we wanted to see how they perform under pressure on Indian soil. It never happened.

"The previous PHF management has already expressed regrets for what happened but in such an atmosphere it is better if this matter is closed and hockey bilateral relations are looked at.

"Nothing has happened so far. We want a logical solution because next year the World Cup will be held in India as well," Shahbaz told PTI.