Why is Pakistan not playing in the Hockey World Cup 2023?

The 15th edition of the Hockey World Cup commenced on Friday, 13 January, but with a notable omission among the participating teams. Pakistan, the most successful side in the history of the prestigious event with four titles to its name, won’t be part of the extravaganza.

The Pakistan hockey team's absence from the World Cup is only the latest setback in a continuing decline in its hockey team’s status. They were part of the 2018 edition, also played in India, but failed to reach the quarter-finals.

In that tournament, Pakistan had their legendary forward Hasan Sardar as their manager. But the great striker failed to inspire his team as they finished third in their group. In the crossover stage, or the second round, they got thumped 5-0 by the eventual winners Belgium. Eventually, the four-time champions ended the tournament in 12th position.

To qualify for the latest edition of the Hockey World Cup, the Pakistan side needed to at least finish in the top-four of the 2022 Asia Cup, played in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 23 May to 1 June. However, the former powerhouse of world hockey failed to reach the second round, finishing third among four teams in Pool A.

Pakistan's decline over the last many years has coincided with the rise of Japan as force to reckon with. The Japanese side stunned the hockey fraternity by winning the 2018 Asian Games gold. While they are still some way away from becoming a consistent team, there is enough talent there to make them a dangerous side.

Malaysia and South Korea have remained capable teams in the Asian sphere. Therefore, Pakistan have been pushed to a much lower level in the hierarchy of even their continent’s teams.

Fans will miss out on an India vs Pakistan match in Hockey World Cup 2023

The biggest impact of Pakistan’s absence in the FIH Hockey World Cup will be the loss of an India-vs-Pakistan contest. While India have clearly been the better side in recent times, the Green Shirts have still managed to produce some good performances against their arch-rivals in the last decade.

Pakistan defeated India in the semi-final of the 2014 Champions Trophy, their last big hurrah in a major international event. The 1994 World Champions also drew their match against India in the Asia Cup last year, though they were up against an experimental Indian team with several young players.

Though an India vs Pakistan hockey match doesn’t have the same appeal as the same contest in the cricket world, it would still have gotten the fans excited. The absence of this contest will certainly leave a void in the tournament.

India’s fortunes have changed and seen the team once again in the world of hockey over the last half-decade, while Pakistan have gone backwards. Before the turn of the millennium, it was the Pakistan team which managed to stay at the top of the hockey world and compete with European teams despite the introduction of the astro turf. While India won their sole Hockey World Cup title in 1975, Pakistan won their last world title as late as 1994.

The two teams produced some ferocious contests in the early part of the noughties, the most memorable encounter being the 7-4 victory for India in the 2003 Champions Trophy. However, we won't see an addition to that saga in this World Cup.

India started off their Hockey World Cup 2023 campaign on a positive note with a 2-0 win against Spain, and they will hope to strengthen their chances of topping Pool D with a win against England later today.