KARACHI, 5 September 2004 — Pakistan hockey officials have warned their Indian counterparts against dropping plans to hold the much-awaited Test series making it clear that “the event will never take place if it doesn’t take place now.”

Recent developments in India have put a big question mark on the fate of the Pakistan-India series scheduled to begin in Karachi later this month.

And the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) is not very pleased about it.

“We have told the Indian hockey officials that if they decide to postpone the series then it is unlikely that it would be held again in the future,” PHF Secretary Brig. (retd) Musarratullah Khan said.

Negative signals are coming from the other side of the border following India’s unimpressive seventh place finish in the Olympic Games in Athens. There are rumors that the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) are more interested in holding the postponed National Championship rather than going ahead with the scheduled Test series which will include four matches each in Pakistan and India between Sept. 24 and Oct. 12.

There are also reports suggesting that the Indian hockey officials are finding it increasingly difficult to raise sponsorship for the series after their team’s disappointing performance in Athens.

The fears that most of the Indian team’s leading players including star striker Dhanraj Pillay are being forced to retire are not helping the IHF either.

Brig. Musarratullah admitted that he has been hearing all these reports but made it clear that if the series is canceled it will be the Indians who will do it.

“As far as we are concerned, all arrangements for the successful hosting of our leg of the series are being finalized. As far is Pakistan is concerned, the series is certainly on,” he said.

Musarratullah said that he had talked with his Indian counterpart Jothikumaran about the series. “I have told him (Jothikumaran) that if the series is postponed now than both the Pakistani and Indian hockey federations will lose the trust of sponsors and hockey fans which will be bad for the sport in this region.”

Both Pakistan and India have been working on the revival of the series since the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Previously, less than favorable political relations between the two countries was a major hurdle. But following a thaw in Pakistan-India relationship, PHF and IHF officials signed a MoU on the series before the Athens Games.