LAHORE
Pakistan in their third match of the FIH Pro League second leg lost 3-0 to Australia at the Tasmania Hockey Centre in Hobart on Friday.
In the first match, Australia had defeated Pakistan by a narrow 3-2 margin. However, on Friday the hosts registered a bigger victory with Blake Govers (two) and Jack Welch (one) scoring the goals.
Germany had also defeated Pakistan in the first match and now in the last match of the leg both the countries meet again on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Ammad Butt categorically denied reports, mainly being spread by some sections of Indian media, that the Pakistan hockey squad did not get the hotel accommodation during the ongoing Pro League campaign.
However, Dawn learnt that the Pakistan hockey team faced some difficulties in the beginning of their tour to Australia.
According to sources, the FIH-approved hotel booking was done by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) against an amount of Rs4 million.
But the Pakistan Sports Board, which is meeting all expenses of the national team on behalf of the government, did not make online payment to the FIH-approved hotel.
Instead the team manager carried the amount in hard cash. But when the Pakistan team arrived in Hobart, the FIH-approved hotel had almost doubled the booking rates. As a result, the team management arranged another hotel, which was not approved by the FIH.
