Hockey India Passes The Buck, Says 'No Formal Communication' on Pakistan's Asia Cup 2025 Participation

Amid the row sparked by Pakistan's participation in the Asia Cup 2025 hockey tournament that is set to take place in India, the sport's governing body Hockey India has said that no call has been taken on their participation in the competition as of now. 

The federation further added that there has been no communication from the the relevant government authorities on the matter and they are okay going ahead without Pakistan being present in the qualifying tournament. 

What's more, the federation stated that any decision that is taken on the matter has to be one that is made by the government of India and they will follow whatever it is the governement tells them to do.

Hockey India's Justification

As per sources, a lot of brainstorming on the issue has been going on post-Operation Sindoor given the strained ties that exist after the Pahalgam terror attacks. 

Sources also revealed to Republic that the main reason that Pakistan are even allowed into the tournament in the first place is that it is a tournament governed by the Asian Hockey Federation. 

As such, the participants are decided by the governing body, as is the case with sports around the world. What's more, the tournament in question is a qualifying event and not the main portion of the tournament. 

But it remains to be seen if Pakistan will even be allowed to travel to India for the tournament at all. 

Will Pakistan Get Clearance?

This is because even the Pakistan hockey team's travel to India would be subject to clearance from their own government.

This has been the case for all sporting teams or individuals who travel across the border from either of the countries for quite some time now. 

And there is no indication yet as to whether or not Pakistan's hockey team will get the necessary clearance to travel to India for the qualifying tournament.