Indian males’s hockey staff captain Harmanpreet Singh on Tuesday mentioned the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai will likely be a “litmus take a look at” for the aspect forward of the Asian Video games to be held in September-October later this yr.
The seventh version of the Asian Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held from August 3 to 12, serving as a precursor to the Hangzhou Asian Video games in September the place groups will vie for gold and qualify for the Paris Olympic Video games.
“For many people, it will likely be the primary time that we are going to be enjoying in Chennai. I bear in mind our seniors speaking in regards to the Asia Cup in 2007 held in Chennai which was an amazing match for India, defending the title in a profitable marketing campaign,” Singh mentioned in a launch.
“This will likely be a great match for us to see the place we stand in opposition to the identical groups with whom we will likely be competing within the Asian Video games. It is going to be a litmus take a look at for the staff forward of the Asian Video games.
“It is going to additionally give us a very good understanding of our opponents and we are able to additional put together properly for the Asian Video games the place we purpose to win the gold medal and straight qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.”
India gained the Asian Champions Trophy within the inaugural version in 2011 and beat Pakistan within the last in 2016 to reclaim the title. Within the following version in 2018, India had been joint winners with Pakistan after rain affected the proceedings in Muscat.
Within the earlier version in 2021 held in Dhaka, the Indian staff completed with a bronze medal.
With Korea and Malaysia showcasing good kind in World Cup 2023 in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, Harmanpreet mentioned that the competitors will likely be intense.
“Korea has proven nice progress over the past couple of years. They gained the Asia Cup in Jakarta final yr and likewise did very properly within the World Cup,” the ace dragflicker mentioned.
“Malaysia too is a robust contender for the title and so they proceed to have among the best penalty-corner assaults. It is going to undoubtedly be a hard-fought match.”