Bangladesh, Kazakhstan replace Pakistan, Oman for Asia Cup men's hockey in India
New Delhi (PTI): Bangladesh and Kazakhstan have replaced Pakistan and Oman for the men's Asia Cup hockey tournament to be held in Rajgir, Bihar from August 29 as per the schedule released on Tuesday.
Hosts India have drawn China, Japan and Kazakhstan in Pool A, while Pool B comprises Malaysia, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Bangladesh.
Malaysia and Bangladesh will get the continental tournament underway with their opening fixture on August 29 before India play China in the first day's last game.
The final, third-place match and 5/6th place classification games are scheduled on September 7.
The Indian government had said that it would provide visas to the Pakistani players for the tournament, but the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has refused to travel, citing security concerns.
The organisers had in advance approached Bangladesh to fill up Pakistan's place in the eight-team tournament.
Pakistan's participation in the Asia Cup -- a qualifying tournament for the 2026 World Cup -- was uncertain after the military confrontation with India following the Pahalgam terror attack.
India had launched Operation Sindoor to dismantle terror infrastructure in Pakistan after the terrorist attack that killed 26 people.
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IndiGo cancels over 1,000 flights on Friday; expects situation to normalise by Dec 10-15: CEO
New Delhi (PTI): On a day when IndiGo cancelled more than 1,000 flights, the airline's CEO Pieter Elbers on Friday said the situation is anticipated to normalise between December 10-15.
Elbers, in a video message, apologised for the major inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the disruptions.
"Regrettably, earlier measures of the last few days have proven not to be enough. So we decided today for a reboot of all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest number of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting tomorrow onwards.
"With these actions, we expect tomorrow to have cancellations below 1,000. The support of DGCA, in providing specific FDTL implementation relief, is of great help," Elbers said.
Aviation regulator DGCA has kept in abeyance the implementation of the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, and gaps in planning the second phase implementation of these norms are one of the key factors for the current flight disruptions.
IndiGo is the country's largest airline and generally operates around 2,300 flights daily.
