While the blues and celebrations of the 18thAsian Games might still not be over, the hockey enthusiasts will have more dose of high-quality action to witness in a few days. With the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy to be held in Oman from the 18thto the 28thof October, there is much promise to see the best Asian sides going head-to-head to compete to be champions.
Japan recently concluded their Asian Games with some sublime, top-notch hockey to clinch gold from a very talented, competitive and mercurial Malaysian side. The game went down to a shoot-out, the second of the tournament, which was won by Japan by 3 goals to 1.
Earlier in the tournament, Malaysia edged out India in the Men’s Event in the first shootout to book a place in the finals of the Asian Games.
With rising potential seen both in the Men’s and Women’s events at the Asian Games, such as the rise of the host nation Indonesia where they played some heartening and fighting hockey to take on the bests in the world, one thing is for certain, the competition to be Asian Champions is more severe than ever before.
Besides hosts Oman, the five remaining teams competing would be Pakistan, Korea, Asian Games Bronze-medalist India, Silver medalist Malaysia and Gold-medalist Japan. 6 of the best Men’s Asian teams will lock horns to prove their mettle and build on their momentum of the Asian Games. The time to relax may be limited as training sessions would be underway for the competing sides for the event that starts in 4 weeks’ time.
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