Karachi, June 27 (Inditop.com) Pakistan failed to earn a direct spot in next year’s World Cup in India after losing to South Korea in the Asia Cup final last month but the country’s hockey officials are hoping that their team will make the cut for the quadrennial spectacle without having to feature in the qualifying rounds.
Quoting unidentified sources, The News reported Saturday that Pakistan might earn a direct spot for the 2010 World Cup to be held in India by virtue of being the Asia Cup runners-up.
Top Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) officials have requested the world hockey bosses to raise the competing teams of the World Cup from 12 to 16.
According to these sources, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has hinted that it might agree to Pakistan’s demands though a final decision on the issue will only be made by October this year.
Senior PHF officials met FIH president Leandro Negre in Malaysia’s southern Johor state on the sidelines of the 2009 Junior World Cup earlier this month.
Sources said that Negre was convinced that the World Cup would be better off with 16 teams instead of 12 and told the PHF officials that he would look into the matter.
The 2002 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur featured 16 teams but later the FIH decided to reduce the teams to 12. That decision was taken by the game’s governing body before Negre took over as the FIH president.
Pakistan will make an official request in the FIH Competitions Committee after which the executive board will have a vote over the idea of having a bigger World Cup, sources said.
If the FIH rules in favour of having 16 teams in the 2010 World Cup to be held in India, then Asia will have two guaranteed berths in the tournament. Korea, as the Asia Cup champions, have already qualified for the World Cup while Pakistan will make the cut as the second-best team in the tournament.
In case, the FIH decides against raising the number of World Cup teams, then Pakistan will have to win one of the three World Cup qualifying tournaments to be held later this year.
rounak