There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for Pakistan hockey and the fortunes of the national game suffered yet another blow when it was revealed that the federation had pulled the team out of the 23rd edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup "due to a lack of funds."

The development comes as yet another jolt to the Pakistan team which had been hoping for a reversal in fortunes after the ignominy of not qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in the game's history.

"I received an e-mail late on Friday from the Pakistan Hockey Federation informing me that they have decided to withdraw from the Azlan Shah Cup," Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) secretary Datuk Johari Aziz said.

"Pakistan had confirmed their participation earlier and their 11th hour withdrawal has placed us in a sticky situation. It is too late to invite another team," Aziz added.

According to the MHC official the tournament, which runs from March 13-23, will now be a six-nation event with Canada, South Korea, South Africa, China, Australia and hosts Malaysia competing in the event. India and France have also pulled out from the event.

Pakistan's last-minute withdrawal comes after the Punjab government announced a Rs100 million grant for the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) earlier this month. The federation insisted, however, that this was akin to merely "restoring the supply of oxygen for the national game."

According to sources, the PHF revealed that currently it did not even have funds to organise a training camp let alone send a team abroad for an international event.