KARACHI: The announcement of the draw for this year’s Junior Hockey World Cup, scheduled to be held in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, has once again been postponed, raising doubts about the smooth staging of the mega event.
This is the second time the draw has been delayed. It was set to be announced on June 24.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) had already deferred the announcement once last month without providing clear reasons, raising questions over the event’s preparations..
The repeated postponements have added uncertainty to India’s ability to host the prestigious tournament as planned.
The Junior Hockey World Cup will be held in India from November 28 to December 10, with 24 teams, including Pakistan.
However, given the ongoing political tensions with India, Pakistan’s participation in the event also remains uncertain.
For the unversed, New Zealand defeated Pakistan 6-2 in the final to win the FIH Nations Cup, which was played last week at the National Hockey Stadium.
New Zealand made a spirited start to the summit clash as they found the back of the net twice but were disallowed on both occasions.
They eventually struck their first goal in the sixth minute as Scott Coslett successfully converted the penalty corner.
New Zealand doubled their lead in the last minute of the first quarter, courtesy of a precise field goal by Sam Hiha.
They were even more ruthless in the subsequent quarter as they netted their third through Dylan Thomas within two minutes.
Sean Findlay scored a sensational field goal in the next minute, putting New Zealand in complete control, while Scott Boyde made it 5-0 with just under four minutes to the halftime.
Pakistan eventually scored their first goal in the fifth minute of the third quarter when Zikriya Hayat breached New Zealand’s defence to smash the ball at the back of the net.
The green shirts got five penalty corners in the penultimate quarter but failed to convert, meaning the scoreline remained intact at 5-1.
The final quarter saw both teams going hard at each other and it appeared that the scoreline would remain intact but New Zealand were awarded a penalty corner, which Coslett converted comprehensively.
Pakistan also scored in the next minute with Sufyan Khan converting a penalty corner but it was far from enough to pull Pakistan back as New Zealand registered a thumping 6-2 victory.
Faizan Lakhani is Deputy Editor (Sports) at Geo News.
