da wazamba： Sports Minister Uma Bharti today said she would not oppose the revivalof cricket ties with Pakistan but demanded a reciprocal gesture fromthat country regarding hockey
04-Jul-2001Sports Minister Uma Bharti today said she would not oppose the revivalof cricket ties with Pakistan but demanded a reciprocal gesture fromthat country regarding hockey.”If cricket figures in the proposed talks with Pakistan PresidentPervez Musharraf during his visit later this month and it was felt itwas necessary to revive cricket ties to boost relations (between thetwo countries), I would not oppose it,” Bharti told reporters inLucknow.”But if we revive cricket ties, Pakistan should initiate revival ofhockey ties as a goodwill gesture and request the International HockeyFederation (FIH) to change the dates of Champions Trophy that clashwith the Afro-Asian Games being hosted by India,” she added.As Pakistan is hosting Champions Trophy it should request FIH tochange the dates so that its team could participate in the Afro-AsianGames, she said.Bharti said a meeting with leading industrial houses of the countrywould be held later this month to encourage them to adopt one sportsdiscipline each and train sportspersons to bring them at par withinternational standards.