LAHORE: Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) chief executive Tayyab Ikram disclosed on Wednesday that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) hasn’t imposed any cash fine on Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) for withdrawing the team from the newly-introduced FIH Pro League.

“There is a process of FIH disciplinary committee ahead to take a decision about the PHF’s withdrawal from an international event of the FIH,” Tayyab told reporters after a meeting with PHF secretary Asif Bajwa. “The PHF representatives must have prepared them strongly to defend their case in Lausanne on June 20.

“It is a very serious offence to withdraw the team from any international event after confirming its entry and as AHF representative I condemned it. It is not fair for anyone to withdraw the team.”

News about the PHF being fined has been doing the rounds recently and Tayyab is the first person to clear the confusion. The PHF withdrew the team from the Pro League, a competition serving as a qualifier for the 2020 Olympics, due to financial crisis.

Tayyab said the meeting with Bajwa was a fruitful one and was focused on setting up a high performance academy in Pakistan. He said the AHF would also help the PHF to revive international hockey in Pakistan including a series against India.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2019