KARACHI: Pakistan’s hockey chiefs are confident that the government will allow their team to cross the border and feature in the World Cup, which gets under way in New Delhi on Feb. 28.

Asif Bajwa, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary, said that the PHF has applied for a no objection certificate (NOC) to send the national hockey team for the World Cup, adding that he expects to receive clearance from the government soon. “We have applied for an NOC, which is usually a routine matter,” he told Arab News on Wednesday. “We know that it’s a bit different when you have to go and play in India but the PHF is hopeful that our team will get the permission soon”.

Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup remains under a cloud following calls from various quarters for a boycott of the 12-nation spectacle after top national cricketers were snubbed at an Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction in Mumbai last month. The decision of the IPL franchises of not bidding for any Pakistani player at the auction ignited strong reaction in Pakistan with some critics and former hockey greats suggesting that the national hockey team should skip the World Cup in India.

However, Bajwa hoped that the authorities would not take such a decision.

“We have invested a lot on the World Cup,” he said referring to the fact that Pakistan has spent millions on qualifying for the World Cup and then preparing the team for the tournament. “We have a good chance to make a comeback in the mainstream. We haven’t played a major tournament since the Beijing Games and our players are looking forward to compete against the world’s best teams,” he explained.

Pakistan have won the World Cup for a record four times but their performance at the international level has been largely unimpressive in the past two decades.

The country’s hockey officials believe that it will be quite disastrous for the national game if their team is not allowed to feature in the World Cup. “We will try to give our best in the World Cup,” said Bajwa, a former Olympian who is also working as the national team’s manager.

“Every thing is right on course. The preparations are going well and our boys are playing the best hockey of their career. I’m confident that they will do well in the World Cup,” he stressed.

Speaking on a different issue, Bajwa said that the PHF is continuing its efforts to bring international hockey back to Pakistan. He said that Pakistan is keen to host the 2012 Champions Trophy adding that the PHF has already sent an expression of interest to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) regarding the hosting rights of the elite six-nation event.

“Bringing back international hockey to Pakistan remains our top priority,” he said. “That is why we have decided to bid for the 2010 Champions Trophy. We are hopeful that by then the security situation in our country will be conducive to stage the event here.”

Pakistan initiated the Champions Trophy in the early eighties but last hosted the event in 2004.

Bajwa said that the PHF would also make all out efforts to host the next year’s Asian Champions Trophy. “We are supposed to host the 2011 Asian Champions Trophy,” he said. “We hope to get a reconfirmation at an Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) meeting later this month.”

The issue will come under discussion at the AHF Executive Board meeting to be held on Feb. 20 in Kuala Lumpur.