Asian Hockey Federation releases Champions Trophy schedule

The Asian Hockey Federation on Friday released the schedule of the Champions Trophy that will be played in Chennai, India from August 3 to 12.

The teams of India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan and China are included in the tournament and all of them are in the same pool.

Pakistan will play its first match against Malaysia on August 3, its second match against Korea on August 4, third match against Japan on August 6, fourth match against China on August 7, and its fifth match against arch-rivals India on August 9.

The final of the event will be played on August 12. Pakistan and India have won the event twice and once jointly in 2018.

The training camp of the shortlisted players for the national hockey team to participate in the Asian Champions Trophy is currently going on at the National Hockey Stadium, Lahore.

The Asian Champions Trophy is considered a big event as it serves as an opportunity to prepare the team for the Asian Games 2023 in China, which will begin in September, which are also the qualifying rounds for securing a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It has to be mentioned that recently Pakistan reached the final of the Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Oman and also qualified for the Junior Hockey World Cup 2023, even though PHF was facing a severe financial crisis. The Green Shirts lost the final by 2-1 against arch-rivals India.

The PHF is facing a financial crisis in terms of bearing the expenditures of organising the training camps, travelling, boarding and lodging of the Pakistan hockey team in international hockey events and the salaries of players and coaches and other members of the team management. But it is hopeful that the success of the Pakistan junior team in Oman and qualification for the Junior World Cup will make the federal government resolve its financial issues.