The Russia-based Dinamo Field Hockey Club has pulled out of their tour to Pakistan which was scheduled to kick off on April 2 in Lahore.
According to a press release by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), Dinamo were scheduled to take on the Pakistan Junior Hockey Team in Lahore on April 2, 3, 5 and 6 — but Sunday’s terrorist attack in the city forced the club from Ekaterinburg to call the tour off.
At least 72 people were killed in a suicide blast that took place in the crowded Gulshan-i-Iqbal park on Sunday evening.
It is unclear whether the tour will be rescheduled but the development comes as another blow to Pakistan hockey.
The club, one of the most prestigious in Russia, is home to six national team players and would have helped the Pakistan junior team get some valuable practice and exposure.
International sports teams have largely avoided touring Pakistan since the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March 2009.Apart from a handful of squash and snooker events and the Zimbabwe cricket team’s visit, No significant tournaments have taken place in the country since 2009.
Hockey, Pakistan’s national sport, has fallen to the depths in recent times and the security situation adds to its misery. Politics, corruption and mismanagement have meant the one-time ‘kings’ of hockey failed to qualify for the World Cup and the Olympics for the first time in the game’s history.
Pakistan are currently placed at 10 in the FIH World Rankings.
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