Date:20/04/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/04/20/stories/2006042004571900.htm

Sport - Hockey

Pakistan qualifies

CHANGZHOU : Pakistan, Korea, New Zealand and England have qualified for the World Cup hockey championship to be held at the German city of Monchengladbach from September 6 to 17.

Four-time champion Pakistan qualified after reaching the semifinals of the qualifying tournament here on Wednesday. It was held to a 2-2 draw by Ireland that gave it second place in Group A behind England, which also earned a direct entry with a 1-0 win over Belgium. In the last Pool A match, Canada beat Egypt 2-1.

Meanwhile in Pool B, Korea beat host China 2-0 and New Zealand recorded a 4-2 win over Malaysia. In the third pool match Japan upset France 5-3.

Korea will play Pakistan in one of the semifinals, while England will take on New Zealand in the other. The winner of the 5-6 playoff match will be the fifth team, apart from the semifinalists, to qualify.

Argentina, Australia, Spain, Germany, India, Netherlands and South Africa have already been guaranteed direct qualification in the tournament. — Agencies