The Pakistan men’s hockey team has travelled to Australia for the second leg of the FIH Pro League in Hobart. The team are currently struggling and will play big teams like Germany and hosts Australia in a tough few fixtures.
However, after they landed in Australia to play in the tournament, they had to roam the streets for hours with their luggage. This was after the Pakistan Hockey Federation failed to clear the bills of the hotel that the team were supposed to stay in, which led to the bookings getting subsequently cancelled. This is because of apparent lack of funds by the board.
“Apparently the players and officials were booked in a four-star hotel in Canberra and were told that the Pakistan Sports Board and Pakistan Hockey Federation had made all upfront payments for their stay in Canberra,” a source close to the proceedings informed PTI.
“But when they reached Canberra last week, they found no bookings for them at the designated hotel. The team’s head coach, Tahir Zaman, faced problems getting in touch with PSB and PHF officials back home because of the time difference. Tahir messaged them about the awkward situation the players were facing and had no place to stay and rest after a long journey from Lahore,” the source added.
Lesser Number Of Rooms Accomodatated
The players reportedly stood outside the hotel for a number of hours, before the authorities of the property were finally convinced. However, lesser number of rooms were accomodated than what was initially planned. Hnece, two to three players occupied a single room.
“Because of unavailability of required rooms the players and officials were accommodated in a lesser number of rooms then they were told. As a result two-three players occupied one room and next day, they went straight to the ground to play their first match against Australia, which they lost 3-2,”