Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 is all set to commence on January 13. The 15th edition of the Men's Hockey World Cup will run until January 29  at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar and Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, Rourkela. 16 teams from all over the world have already qualified for the grandest tournament in the sport of field hockey. The groups and fixtures have been already announced. Australia, Argentina, France and South Africa have been drawn into Pool A. Defending champion Belgium will face Germany, South Korea and Japan in Pool B. Pool C will have teams like Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia and Chile. Finally hosts India have been grouped in Pool D along with England, Spain and Wales. Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 Schedule for Free PDF Download Online: Get Hockey Fixtures, Time Table With Match Timings in IST and Venue Details.

However, Four-time Men's Hockey World Cup champion Pakistan will not be able to feature in the Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 in India. Today, in this article we will take a look at why Pakistan is not playing in the Men's Hockey World Cup 2023.

Why is Pakistan Not Playing in Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 in India? 

Pakistan men's hockey team will not feature in the upcoming edition of the Men's Hockey World Cup in India. The reason for this is Pakistan's inability to finish in the top four of the Men's Hockey Asia Cup 2022. Hockey World Cup 2023: A Look at Staggering Numbers From Past 14 Editions Ahead of Tournament in Odisha.

The Green Machines were drawn into Group B along with, Japan, India and hosts Indonesia at Men's Hockey Asia Cup 2022. Pakistan started their tournament with a 1-1 draw against India. Then they defeated Indonesia by a huge margin of 13-0. However, in the final of the group stage, Pakistan were beaten 2-3 by Japan. So when India defeated Indonesia by a margin of 16-0, Pakistan were knocked out of the Men's Hockey Asia Cup 2022 on goal difference. As a result, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Men's Hockey World  Cup only for the second time in their history.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 06, 2023 12:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).