(MENAFN- Muscat Daily)
That promise has come straight from Narinder Batra, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) chief, who reckons the big event could be a bilateral series or a tri-series involving some of the top teams from Asia.
In an exclusive chat with Muscat Daily on the sidelines of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Congress that was hosted by the Oman Hockey Association (OHA) in Muscat on Thursday, Batra said, 'I can assure you that Oman will host an international series soon. It may be a bilateral series or a tri-series. I have come here only for the second time, but I have fallen in love with this country.'
On Pakistan's plea to make Oman its base, Batra, the firstIndian to head the world body, said, 'It's something that Pakistan's national body has to decide. All I can say is that the FIH is fine with Oman as Pakistan's venue.'
The FIH is yet to hear from the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) on its plans to play its home games during the Champions League.
'There are a couple of options available to Pakistan. It's up to their national body to take a call. Oman is a suitable venue as it is geographically close to Pakistan and the sport has a good following here,' said the FIH chief.
Batra complimented the OHA for its enthusiasm in hosting the AHF Congress and said the FIH believes 'Oman can play a pivotal role in developing and spreading the game in the Middle East'.
'Oman has a rich history of the game. The leadership of OHA chairman Talib al Wahaibi will be key to our plans of making hockey popular in the region. One of my goals since I took over as the FIH president has been to spread the game to new countries,' said Batra.
New members in AHF's fold
During the AHF Congress, which was inaugurated by H E Sheikh Saad al Saadi, the Minister of Sports Affairs, a resolution was passed to include three new members, all from the Middle East, into the Asian hockey fold - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iraq.
With Oman, Qatar and UAE already AHF members and Kuwait's admission on hold due to the IOC sanctions, the entry of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain paves the way of the growth of hockey in the GCC region.
Oman hockey is growing: Ikram
Tayyab Ikram, the CEO of the AHF who has been closely following the sport in Oman, said, 'The hosting of the AHF Congress for the first time in Oman is an achievement in itself. The OHA's new board has displayed lot of commitment to make the event a success.'
'With the inclusion of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between AHF and OHA, we expect Oman to lead hockey development in the region. Also, the AHF also plans to open an academy in Muscat that would serve the nations in the region,' said Ikram.
A total of 33 Asian nations took part in the congress.
AHF president Prince Abdullah Ahmad Shah of Malaysia said, 'The presence of such a large number of nations underlines the success of the first congress in Oman.'
The congress also formally inducted India's Abhijit Sarkar as the AHF vice-president, a post that fell vacant after Batra became the FIH chief in November last year.
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