KARACHI, 11 July 2005 — Asian rivals Pakistan and India have been drawn together in the same pool of the eight-nation Rabo Trophy Hockey Tournament to be held in the Dutch city of Amsterdam from Aug. 14 to 21.
The hockey giants from the subcontinent share Pool A with European powerhouses Germany, the world champions and Spain, the Champions Trophy gold medalists.
Also in the cast for the Rabo Trophy are Olympic champions Australia, hosts Holland, Asian Games champions Korea and England.
It is one of the major hockey events of the year and would provide the participating teams with a good warm-up for this year’s Champions Trophy to be played in the south Indian city of Chennai. Pakistan would begin their campaign on the third day of the tournament with a tough game against Spain.
The Spaniards, after winning the Champions Trophy in Lahore last December, are currently counted among the top teams of the world.
They have beaten Pakistan in the previous two meetings that came at last summer’s Olympic Games in Athens and in the Champions Trophy played in Lahore. India would play Spain on the opening day of the tournament. A potentially explosive battle between Pakistan and India would come on Aug. 18 followed by Pakistan’s last pool game against Germany on Aug. 19. The teams finishing at the No. 1 spot in each group would clash in the title match on Aug. 21.
Earlier, the opening match of the tournament would be played between England and Korea on Aug. 14. Before taking part in the Rabo Trophy, the Pakistan team would feature in a four-nation tournament in Hamburg, Germany.
Hosts Germany, Holland and Australia complete the field for the Hamburg Masters.
