03 January 2004	Saturday	10 Ziqa'ad 1424

ISLAMABAD, Jan 2: The continental qualifying round being held in Karachi this April for the 2005 Junior World Cup will feature 10 teams instead of eight, Pakistan hockey secretary Brig. Musarratullah Khan said on Friday.

The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) has decided to allow four Division II teams to join the six sides in Division I keeping in view the improved standard of play displayed by the lower ranked teams at last month's AHF Cup in Singapore. The qualifiers are slated for April 21 to 29.

The teams to have earned the right to compete alongside Pakistan, India, Korea, Malaysia, Japan and China are Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Singapore, four sides that were the semifinalists of the AHF Cup.

Musarrat said that the initial format for the qualifiers was allowed for eight teams but the AHF Council that met in Singapore last month decided to increase that number. Holland will host the Junior World Cup in September next year.