Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey on Wednesday said that the national men’s team will travel to Pakistan for qualifiers in case it fails to directly qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning gold at the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, starting on September 23.

The team winning the continental event gold shall receive direct entry in the quadrennial extravaganza as per rule but other nations need to play the qualifiers and this time venues identified are Pakistan and Spain.

“We will be trying to get the job done in Hangzhou. But, for some reason, if we fail to qualify, then a couple of venues have been identified for the qualifiers — Pakistan and Spain. So, wherever it happens, we will definitely go,” he said during a media interaction on the eve of the Asian Champions Trophy on Wednesday.

Travelling to Pakistan requires government clearance and it is to be seen what will be the stance in case the situation demands that the national hockey team is needed to travel to Pakistan to play the qualifiers.

When weighed upon if the players were risking themselves to injury by playing Asian Champions Trophy, just weeks before heading to China, Tirkey said that one can pick up niggles even during training or warm-up games.

“The most important thing is that we play practice matches before every major event. Don’t we have the fear of getting injured then? So, I think we should take this event on a positive note as a medium of preparation, and it is also a competitive event.”