KARACHI, 27 April 2004 — Following in the footsteps of their cricket counterparts, Pakistani and Indian officials are expected to revive a full-fledged test series on a home-and-away basis this fall.
Top hockey officials from the two countries are to meet on the sidelines of the 5th Junior Asia Cup under progress here to exclusively discuss the details of the proposed series.
Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Brig. (retd) Musarrat Ullah Khan will be meeting with his Indian counterpart Jyotikumaran scheduled to reach Karachi today for the Asian Hockey Federation council and committee meeting to be held here on April 28 and 29.
The only point on the agenda when the two officials meet here later this week will be to decide the work plan of the series that has been under consideration since the 2000 Olympiad and Sydney.
There were plans to take the series on the neutral venue of Dubai after assurances from local sports promoters there. But it could not take place due lack of proper hockey infrastructure in Dubai.
But a thaw in the Pakistan-India relations and the successful hosting of a historic cricket series between the two rivals have renewed hopes of the region’s hockey officials that a similar exercise can be carried out by them with the countries’ hockey teams playing against each other on both sides of the border. Brig. Musarrat is hopeful that the latest situation should allow the proposed series to go ahead sometime in September or October this year. The chances of Pakistan and India playing hockey tests in each other’s backyard appear highly positive but such an event can only take place after this August’s Olympic Games in Athens.
Both Pakistan and India have heavy international commitments ahead of Athens and can only play in the proposed series in either September or October.
Meanwhile, a move to take the Pakistan-India hockey series for the first time to the shores of North America has failed due to logistical problems. A sports management group based in New York recently invited Pakistan and India to play a test series there later this year but after some consideration the idea was dropped, as it was not possible to play such a high-profile event at a new venue at such a short notice.
