LAUSANNE, Jan 22: Asian Games champions and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists India are place in a tough Pool B in the men’s hockey competition at this year’s Paris Games.
Eight-time champions India, who clinched a historic bronze medal in Tokyo after a hiatus of 41 years, have been clubbed with reigning Olympic champions and world no.2 Belgium, mighty Australia, Rio Games gold medallist Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland.
The Indians are currently ranked third in the world, behind Belgium and the Netherlands, and they had found it tough to beat Tokyo silver medallist Australia and Argentina in the past.
Pool A, meanwhile, consists of Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, France and South Africa.
The International Hockey Federation announced the pools of both men’s and women’s hockey competition after the completion of the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers on Sunday.
In the women’s competition in Paris, there will be no representation from India, who finished a creditable fourth in Tokyo, as they failed to qualify, having finished fourth after losing to Japan 0-1 in the Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi on Friday.
Germany, USA and Japan sealed their berths from the Ranchi event.
Reigning Olympic champions Netherlands are placed in Pool A with Belgium Germany, Japan, China and hosts France.
Pool B comprises Australia, current silver medallist Argentina, Great Britain, Spain, USA and South Africa.
The participating teams have been allocated their respective pools on the basis of the FIH World Rankings as on Sunday.
The 12 teams per gender have qualified for the Olympic Games either as hosts, winner of their continental qualifier or top three finisher of their FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier.
The top four teams from each pool in both men’s and women’s competitions will qualify for the quarterfinals.
The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 till August 11 and hockey competitions will start from July 27 and end on August 9.
PAKISTAN FAILS TO QUALIFY
Pakistan’s embattled men’s hockey team has failed to qualify for the Olympic Games for a third consecutive time after losing its final shot at a Paris ticket in the FIH Qualifiers in Oman, a result that left the game’s former greats here sad and outraged in equal measure.
After losing 0-4 to Germany in the tournament’s semi-final, Pakistan went down 2-3 to New Zealand in the third-place match last night, ending their chances of making it to this year’s Paris Olympics as only the top-three made the cut.
Pakistan’s last Olympic appearance was in the 2012 Games where the team signed off 7th, a marginal improvement from its worst ever 8th place finish in the Beijing Games in 2008. The team is overall an eight-time medallist in the mega-event, three of them being gold (1960, 1968, and 1984).
“What do you expect bhai (brother), when the team is sent to the Olympic qualifiers with just 18 days training whereas all the other teams have come there with months of preparation and training,” Olympian Wasim Feroze, who was a member of Pakistan’s 1994 World Cup and Champions Trophy winning teams, said.
Pakistan hockey has been in doldrums and was faced with a financial crisis leading to non payment of allowances and contract salaries to players and coaches. The financial crunch at times forced the PHF to pull out of international events.But two months back the crisis took a new turn when Brigadier (retd) Khalid Sajjad Khokar, who was PHF President since 2015, was removed by the patron in chief, the caretaker prime minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar.This led to total chaos with Khokar refusing to accept the government decision and effectively created a situation of parallel authorities with the players also not sure about their future and coaches coming and going. (PTI)
