KARACHI, 12 October 2004 — Olympic champions Australia yesterday pulled out of this December’s Champions Trophy in Lahore dealing a severe blow to the elite six-nation tournament.
Hockey Australia (HA) informed the International Hockey Federation (FIH) about the decision, which they say was based on security fears.
The Aussies had been reluctant to confirm their participation ever since government renewed its negative advise on any nonessential travel to Pakistan this summer. They are now likely to be replaced by India, who were designated by the FIH as reserves for the event.
Furious Pakistani officials were quick to question the Australian decision and blasted the FIH for “failing to protect its own tournament from such setbacks.”
“We had assured foolproof security cover for all participants including Australia and even then if a competing team is not ready to come to Pakistan then we have every right to think that the reason is not safety of its players but something else,” Musarrat Ullah Khan, PHF secretary, said.
“The Champions Trophy is an FIH tournament and it’s up to them to ensure that all member countries fulfill their commitment. They should have convinced Australia to take part in the tournament.”
Australia will not be playing for the first time in the 27-year history of the Champions Trophy. The PHF fears that the Aussie withdrawal might trigger a chain reaction similar to the one that ended in the 2001 edition of the Champions Trophy, which was supposed to take place in Lahore, being relocated to the Dutch city of Rotterdam. At that time, the Dutch and Germans expressed fears for their players’ safety and were backed by a couple of other competing teams, finally resulting in the shifting of the competition.
So far the 2004 tournament remains in Pakistan with four teams having already confirmed their participation. The teams are world champions Germany, Olympic silver medalists the Netherlands, Spain and New Zealand.
Whether all would remain firm on their decisions is to be seen. New Zealand hockey officials had said that they might base their own decision to send a team to Pakistan on Australia’s plans.
