A lucrative, but unsanctioned, field hockey tournament due to start this month along the lines of cricket's Indian Premier League has been postponed, organisers said on Monday. The multi-million-dollar World Series Hockey, promoted by the unrecognised Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and backed by the Nimbus television company, had threatened the country's Olympic qualification.
The tournament, slated from December 17 to January 22 across various venues in India, clashed with the dates of the Indian team's ongoing camp to prepare for the Olympic qualifiers to be held in New Delhi in February. India, winners of eight Olympic field hockey gold medals who failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games, have to win the New Delhi event to make the trip to London.