Bangladesh and Kazakhstan will play Bangladesh and Kazakhstan in the Asia Cup hockey tournament to be held in Rajgir, Bihar in place of Pakistan and Oman. This information was given in the tournament program released on Tuesday. Host India is placed in Group A along with China, Japan and Kazakhstan while Pool B has Malaysia, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Bangladesh.
The winner of this eight teams tournament will be directly placed in the World Cup to be held in 2026 in the Netherlands and Belgium. The continental tournament will begin on August 29 with Malaysia and Bangladesh, while India and China will be face to face in the final match of the first day of the competition.
After the pool phase, Super Four matches will be played from September 3 to 6. Super Four matches will be announced after the pool phase. The final, third place play-off and fifth-sixth place will be held on September 7. The Government of India had said that it would provide visas to Pakistani players for the tournament but the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) refused to travel for security reasons. The organizers had already contacted Bangladesh to replace Pakistan in this tournament of eight teams.
There was uncertainty about Pakistan’s representation in the Asia Cup due to military conflict with India after the Pahalgam terror attack. It is also a qualifying competition of the 2026 World Cup. India started Operation Sindoor to demolish the terrorist structure in Pakistan after 26 people killed in a terrorist attack. Korea is the most successful team of the tournament that has won the title five times.
India and Pakistan have won three three times. India finally gave Malaysia 2 in the final in Dhaka in 2017. Won the title by defeating 1. The last time the Indian team finished third in Jakarta. Asian Hockey Federation President Fumio Ogura said, “Hero Asia Cup Rajgir Bihar 2025 will see the best Asian hockey. Every match will be important with the World Cup qualification claim. We hope that this time you will get to see exciting matches.
Disclaimer: Prabhasakshi has not edited this news. This news has been published from the feed of PTI-language.
