Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey gave a big update that that could pave the way for renewing ties between India and Pakistan in Sports. He assured that India could travel to Pakistan for the 2024 Paris Olympic qualifiers in case the team fails to earn a direct qualification.
The upcoming Asian Games gives an opportunity for the teams to seal a direct berth in the Olympics. The team twinning the continental event gold shall receive direct berth in the quadrennial extravaganza as per rule. However other nations need to play the qualifiers and this time venues identified are Pakistan and Spain.
“We will be trying to get the job done in Hangzhou. But, if for some reason, we fail to qualify, then there are a couple of venues that have been identified for the qualifiers – Pakistan and Spain. So, wherever it happens, we will definitely go,” he said during a media interaction on the eve of the tournament on Wednesday.
Travelling to Pakistan requires government clearance and it is there to be seen what will be the centre’s stance in case situation demands that national hockey team is needed to travel to Pakistan to play the qualifiers.
When weighed upon if the players were risking themselves to injury by playing Asian Champions Trophy, just weeks before heading to China, Tirkey said that one can pick up niggles even during training or warm-up games.
“The most important thing to note is that we play practice matches before every major event. Don’t we have the fear of getting injured then? So, I think we should take this event on a positive note as a medium of preparation, and it is also a competitive event.”
“There is still quite some time, over a month, left for the preparations for the Asian Games. Injuries can happen even during practice matches. So, I don’t think we should be too bothered by it and focus on delivering our best here.” Chennai is witnessing the return of competitive international hockey for the first time in 16 years.
“For the past few years, a few cities are being developed into high-profile hockey centres, including Odisha, which has the best facilities right now. Earlier, quite some Indian cities used to be prime hockey centres with championship matches and tournaments, which also included Chennai.”
“I have myself featured in some of the competitions in Chennai. So, our focus has been on reviving the former hockey centres of India. Chennai had a lot of craze in terms of hockey back at the time and we will always aim to make things better here with the help of the Tamil Nadu government,” said Tirkey.
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