{"id":8828,"date":"2025-05-28T18:04:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T18:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=8828"},"modified":"2025-05-28T18:04:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T18:04:24","slug":"pakistan-hockey-captain-calls-for-relocation-of-2025-asia-cup-from-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=8828","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan hockey captain calls for relocation of 2025 Asia Cup from India"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Pakistan hockey team captain Imad Shakeel Butt has called for the relocation of the upcoming Men\u2019s Hockey Asia Cup 2025 from India, citing escalating political tensions between the two countries. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he emphasised the importance of the tournament, which acts as a qualifier for the 2026 Hockey World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Asia Cup is crucial for us as it\u2019s a World Cup qualifying event. Given the current political situation between Pakistan and India, we believe the venue should be reconsidered,\u201d he said. He added that Pakistan\u2019s final decision regarding participation would be in line with instructions from the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>The 12th edition of the Men\u2019s Hockey Asia Cup is scheduled to take place in Rajgir, India, from 27 August to 7 September 2025, under the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF). However, concerns over the event\u2019s credibility have emerged amid unconfirmed reports suggesting Indian authorities may be planning to exclude Pakistan from the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>The issue has intensified in the wake of the Pahalgam incident, which has reportedly resulted in visa denials for the Pakistani squad, putting their participation in jeopardy. Neither the Indian government nor the AHF has issued an official statement on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Pakistan team is focusing on its preparations for the upcoming FIH Nations Cup. A strong showing could earn them promotion to the prestigious Pro League. \u201cOur focus will be sharp from the first match. The players are motivated, and we aim to deliver positive results,\u201d Butt\u00a0said.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pakistan hockey team captain Imad Shakeel Butt has called for the relocation of the upcoming Men\u2019s Hockey Asia Cup 2025 from India, citing escalating political tensions between the two countries. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he emphasised the importance of the tournament, which acts as a qualifier for the 2026 Hockey World Cup. \u201cThe Asia [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8828\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}