~ The marquee tournament in Asian Hockey calendar begins tomorrow at the picturesque
Moqi Hockey Training Base ~
Moqi (China), 07 September 2024: The stage is set for the prestigious Hero Asian Champions Trophy starting on 8th September here at the picturesque Moqi Hockey Training Base which overlooks the Nierji Dam in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia in China. The tournament features Asia’s top six teams. Reigning Olympic Bronze medalists India start as favourites to defend the title while hosts China, Japan, Pakistan, Korea and Malaysia have arrived with hopes of a grand outing in the marquee tournament.
Taking the excitement up a notch, an opening ceremony depicting the Chinese heritage and culture will be held on the eve of the tournament.
Last year, India won the title at home, making them the only team to bag four titles in the history of the tournament. Riding on their success at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, India will look to make it title no.5 here in Moqi.
India Captain Harmanpreet Singh said: “The Asian Champions Trophy last year gave us the right momentum going into the Asian Games and followed it up with the Olympic Games triumph of standing on the podium yet again. This time too, we want to begin the new Olympic cycle by winning this tournament. This is an important tournament for us in terms of world ranking points and we are ready for the challenge.”
Meanwhile, last year’s runners-up Malaysia are playing this tournament on the back of their recent outing in Nations Cup where they finished seventh.
Captain of the team, Marhan Jalil said: “We recently played the FIH Nation’s Cup where we met some of the Asian teams too. We want to produce an improved performance here at the Asian Champions Trophy. We have a young team with a mix of a few senior players and we are keen on a similar result like last time where we played the final against India.”
Coming into this tournament after finished fourth in the FIH Men’s Nations Cup, Pakistan is eager to get on to a good start under newly-appointed Head Coach Tahir Zaman.
Captain of Pakistan, Ammad Butt, said: “We have been here since the 25th August and have played four practice matches with China. We are very excited to play this tournament under the guidance of Tahir Zaman who will join the team tonight. We are excited to play here, this is the first time Hulunbuir is hosting this tournament and the facilities are excellent. We start our match against Malaysia and we want to start the tournament on a good note.”
Japan who finished third in the previous edition look in good stead to give top teams a strong fight. They take on Korea in the first match of the tournament.
Captain of Japanese team, Fujishima Raika said, “We have prepared well for this tournament, and have focused on our tactical defence and counter attacking as a unit. Last year, we finished third and this time we want to finish in the Final. India is obviously very good and they have best penalty corner and attack in the world, we look forward to the tournament.”
Korea, on the other hand, have come with a young team and will be looking to groom this team in the lead up to important events like the Asia Cup next year and the Asian Games in 2026.
Head Coach Min Taeseok said, “We have come with a young team and have prepared well for this tournament. We played in the FIH Nations Cup and finished ahead of Malaysia. We are looking to build this team for the upcoming major events and this will be an important tournament for us.”
Meanwhile host nation China are excited that this marquee event is being held in their home soil. The team’s Korean Head Coach Yoo Seung Jin said, “The team is very excited this tournament is being hosted in Moqi. We have prepared well and have also played some practice matches in the lead up.”
On the opening day, Japan take on Korea in the first match while Pakistan play Malaysia in the second game and defending champions India play hosts China on 8th September 2024.
Please see attached images from Moqi Training Base in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia in China.
by Asia Hockey
