Why is Pakistan not playing in ongoing Hockey World Cup 2023 in India? Know here

Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 is being organised in Odisha, India. It has started from Friday. In the first match of the tournament, Argentina beat South Africa by 1–0. While in the second match, Australia crushed France by a score of 8-0. But the Pakistan hockey team is not playing in this tournament. There is a dispute going on between India and Pakistan for a long time. But there is another reason behind Pakistan not playing in India. Actually the Pakistani team could not qualify for the Hockey World Cup.

Actually Pakistan Hockey team could not qualify for World Cup 2023. For this reason, the Pakistani team, could not come to India for the Hockey World Cup. According to the rules of the International Hockey Federation, the top 4 teams of Asia can play the World Cup. But Pakistan was not included in the top four. In the Asia Cup 2022, Pakistan played a 1-1 draw against India. After this, Japan defeated the Pakistani team by 2-3 in the second match. After this, Pakistan’s team remained in third place and could not even reach the semi-finals. Whereas India, Japan, Korea and Malaysia had qualified.

Pakistan has been among the best teams in the world in terms of hockey. It is the only team in the world to win the Hockey World Cup title four times. The Pakistan team won the titles in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994. But did not get a single title after this. The Pakistani team could not even reach the semi-finals after 1994. Pakistan’s hockey team, once among the best in the world, is no longer a part of the World Cup 2023.

The Hockey World Cup was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen patnaik in the presence of Union Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Anurag Thakur.