Punjab CM Mann awaits Centre's nod for Japan visit to watch Asian Games hockey

Neeraj Bali Chandigarh, Sep 24 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is awaiting the Centre's political clearance to travel to Japan for the Asian Games hockey knockouts, weeks before his state hosts a major continental hockey tournament, officials said on Thursday. The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) has invited Mann and a Punjab government delegation to attend the concluding stages of the men's and women's hockey competitions at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The invitation, issued by AHF President Fumio Ogura, covers the semi-finals on September 30 and October 1 and the finals on October 2 and 3. "The CM has applied…