Chennai: After a long gap of 16 years Chennai is hosting an international hockey tournament. Also, this is the first time in 25 years that arch-rivals India and Pakistan will meet each other in this city. Besides these two neighbours, defending champions South Korea, China, Japan, and Malaysia are the six teams participating in this event.
All six teams have arrived and the first game on the opening day is between South Korea and Japan followed by Malaysia Vs Pakistan and India and China. Each day will have three matches with India taking on defending champion South Korea on August 7 and its perennial rival, Pakistan, on August 9.
In the past, both India and Pakistan have shared the honours evenly with India annexing it in 2011 and 2016, and Pakistan in 2012 and 2016. In the rain-interrupted 2018 contest, both teams shared the championship.
The Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium, which hosted the 2007 hockey tournament, has been modernised and spruced up at a cost of Rs 16 crore. This time the state-of-the-art astroturf and the facilities, according to officials, have been made to match the standards of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Also read:Asian Champions Trophy 2023: India look to give final touches to Asian Games preparation
The last time India and Pakistan met face-to-face here was in 1998. “The eco-friendly astroturf, primarily made of Sugarcane besides other materials, is the first of its kind in Asia and requires only 10000 litres of water whereas as against 35000 litres required for the existing ones. It is extremely player friendly and has received their appreciation,” says Sekar J Manohara, president of Tamil Nadu Hockey Unit.
If the dhoti-clad Thambi was the mascot for the Chess Olympiad held last year, for the Asian Hockey Championship, it is Bomman, the elephant sporting shorts and a hockey stick. Inspired by the Oscar-winning docu-film “The Elephant Whisperers ', in which Bomman takes care of an orphaned elephant calf along with Bellie. Both Bomman and Bellie are from the local tribal community in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu.
The Indian team led by captain Harmanpreet Singh has a Tamil Nadu player Karthik Selvam while the Malaysian team has a Tamil coach. Success in this tournament will also be taken into account for entry to the Paris Olympics 2024.
