Pakistan to participate in Asian Champions Trophy in India

KARACHI: Pakistan will participate in the Asian Champions Trophy 2023, scheduled in Chennai, India, from August 3 to 12, 'The News' learnt on Monday. Informed sources in Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) confirmed the senior team's participation in the upcoming event.

Sources further revealed that in order to prepare the team for the crucial event, PHF will arrange a training camp. The details of the training camp and the names of the players for it will be announced by next week. Sources said that the Asian Champions Trophy is a big event as it serves as an opportunity to prepare the team for the Asian Games 2023 in China, which are also the qualifying rounds for securing a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, China and South Korea will participate in the 7th edition of the Asian Champions Trophy. Pakistan and India have won the event twice and once jointly in 2018.

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 Greenshirts 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.