Asian Games hockey qualifiers set to be shifted to Thailand

The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) all but decided shifting the venue for the Men’s Asian Games Qualifiers from Oman to Thailand after cancelling the event in Muscat amid escalating geopolitical tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States, a top official of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) said.

The nine-nation qualifiers, including Bangladesh, were originally scheduled to be held in Muscat from March 28 to April 5, with the top four teams earning qualification for September’s Asian Games.

“We received a letter from the Asian Hockey Federation last Thursday stating that the Men’s Asian Games Qualifiers venue in Oman has been cancelled and that the new venue will be announced soon,” BHF general secretary Riazul Hasan told The Daily Star on Monday.

Hasan added that Thailand is being considered as a potential new venue and an official announcement is expected within a couple of days. A coach of the team, however, said that the shift to Thailand is all but certain.

Bangladesh have been placed in Pool B alongside Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan, while Pool A comprises Oman, Hong Kong, Thailand, Kazakhstan and Indonesia.

“The tournament is likely to be deferred by about a week as the AHF must inform the Olympic Council of Asia about the number of participating teams in the Asian Games by May,” Hasan said.

It has been learnt that the tournament will now start on April 2 instead of March 28.

The BHF will, meanwhile, continue its training camp until the completion of the qualifiers. However, players will be given a five-day break during the Eid period from March 19 to 23 before rejoining camp on March 24.

Bangladesh had initially planned to play two warm-up matches against Thailand and Kazakhstan in Oman before the qualifiers, but due to the imminent change of schedule, the federation is looking to rearrange practice matches, once the fixtures and arrival of the teams are officially confirmed.

Oman has also postponed the Women’s Junior AHF Cup, which was scheduled to begin in Muscat from April 6. Bangladesh’s junior women’s team, originally set to participate in that event, will instead compete in the Women’s Asian Games Qualifiers, scheduled to start on April 20 in Indonesia.