FIH refuses clearance for 4-nation tournament

HI president AK Mattoo didn’t disclose why FIH denied them permission but said now efforts were on to hold an India-France bilateral test series to fill the void.

“We have cancelled the four-nation tournament scheduled this month because FIH did not give us the approval to organise the tournament,” Mattoo told reporters here.
“In place of that, a bilateral series will be organised very soon. We are in talks with France for that purpose,” he said.

Mattoo, however, dismissed suggestions that FIH denied them permission because the National Stadium was not ready for the event.

Mattoo said construction was in the National Stadium was going on as per the schedule and there was no question of any delay in the organising of the hockey World Cup, which starts on February 28.

“World Cup will take place at its scheduled time. We are taking stock of the preparations and the stadium will be there in place. There is no question of delay. All the necessary work will be complete before the start of the event,” he said.

The HI chief also shot down suggestions that the federation had hatched a controversy to deny affiliation to Hockey Punjab and debarring it from its January 29 elections.