Pakistan blame India for TT pull-out

Pakistan table tennis chiefs on Saturday blamed organisers of the Commonwealth championships for causing their team to pull out of the tournament.

The Commonwealth championships begin on Saturday in New Delhi.

"The non-serious attitude of the Indian Table Tennis Federation, which sent us a late invitation, has denied our team crossing border for the event," vice-president of the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation Iftikhar-ul-Haq told Reuters from Lahore.

He said Asian Table Tennis Federation rules state that an invitation must be sent at least seven days before the start of the tournament, but the ITTF extended the invitation on Thursday, leaving no time to complete travel formalities.

Pakistan were scheduled to arrive in New Delhi by bus on Friday after the Indian government allowed the traditional rivals to play in the championships.

"Our request to allow the Pakistan team was sanctioned by the government yesterday (Thursday)," Moolchand Chowhan, secretary general of the ITTF said in New Delhi on Friday.

Haq said it is unfortunate that Pakistan couldn't participate in the championships.

"We are sad because a month-long camp had been set for the players in which they trained really hard."

Haq said he is not concerned by India's ultra right-wing Hindu Shiv Sena party, which protested on Friday against a government decision to allow Pakistan to compete in the championships.

"Shiv Sena behaved in a similar fashion in 1999 before the Pakistan cricket team was due to arrive in India. Once the team landed, everything settled. But it is the delay in sending the invitation which has irked us," he said.

Pakistan's failure to travel to India for the Commonwealth championships is the latest in a series of incidents that have damaged relations between the traditional rivals.

Earlier, India cancelled its scheduled cricket tour to Pakistan and backed out of the Sharjah tri-nation one-day series because Pakistan was participating.