PHF Secretary-General Asif Bajwa said the PHF was shocked after the team was eliminated from the list of participating nations in the finals of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Series, paving the way for the Olympics.
It comes despite the fact that Pakistan did not participate in the FIH Hockey Series Open, allowing the teams to qualify for the series finals, as their world ranking is too high.
Instead, they had applied to participate in the FIH Pro League, the premier home and away competition set up by the World Federation of Sports earlier this year.
Pakistan, however, dropped out of the Pro League, which also gives the teams the opportunity to reserve a place in the qualifiers for Tokyo 2020 after they had failed their first three games.
Pakistan could secure a place in the next year’s Olympic Games with the FIH World Ranking, but Bajwa said it was a “tough question” as they will not play many internationals due to their exclusion from the Pro League.
The PHF official added that the national governing body will write to FIH President Narinder Batra to revive his qualification hopes.
“It is a shock to us that we have been excluded from all qualifying events, mainly because we have not met the obligations of the FIH Pro League,” said Bajwa.
“Our qualification depended on improving placements, which is a difficult question given that Pakistan has few tournaments to play in these months.
“Pakistan has served the sport in thick and thin. “It is thanks to Pakistan and India that ice hockey flourished internationally in the 1960s and 1970s.
“Pakistan has initiated the World Cup, the Junior World Cup and the Champions Trophy and helped the sport to gain a foothold in the Olympics.
“Pakistan needs special treatment in this hour of need.
“We want to make it clear to FIH that Pakistan is an important hockey nation and as such should be given the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics.”
In a statement sent to insidethegames, an FIH spokesman said the global organization could not include Pakistan in the series finals since they had originally joined the Pro League. The FIH has not yet received a letter from the PHF.
“With the announcement of Pakistan’s failure to attend the FIH Pro League 2019 in January, it was not possible to integrate the Asian team into the FIH Series Finals,” the spokesman said.
“First, Pakistan did not play the Hockey Series Open, which allowed the teams to qualify for the FIH series final.
“Secondly, Pakistan was not one of the teams to have direct access to the FIH final due to their position in the FIH World Ranking list when the competition format for the hockey series was agreed as Pakistan had applied to participate in the FIH Pro League . “
Pakistan stood on all men’s ice hockey podium at all of Melbourne’s Olympic Games from 1956 to Barcelona in 1992.
They have won three gold medals at this time – in Rome in 1960, Mexico City in 1968 and Los Angeles in 1984 – but have not won a medal since the games in the Spanish city. Pakistan could not qualify for the first time in Rio 2016 for the Olympic hockey tournament.
