Bangladesh to feature in hockey's Asian Champions Trophy, Olympic qualifiers

Bangladesh will participate in next month’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in India and the Olympic qualifiers in Chile next year, Bangladesh Hockey Federation joint secretary Ariful Haque Prince confirmed. 

The Asian Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in Punjab from October 27 to November 5, will feature the top six teams in Asia.

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Bangladesh, who finished seventh at the recent Asian Games in Japan, have been invited after Pakistan withdrew from the tournament amid political tensions with hosts India.

“We were kept as reserve teams and eventually invited by the FIH to participate, after Pakistan declined to play,” Ariful told The Daily Star. “We will receive an official letter from FIH within a day or two. We hope to start training camp on Monday since we don't have much time left.” 

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The former national team player also said Bangladesh have a chance to compete in the Olympic qualifiers despite missing out on the top-six qualification spots at the Asian Games. 

Originally, six Asian teams were to qualify for the Olympic qualifiers based on their finish at the Asian Games. However, Asian Games winners India have been allocated a direct spot, with Bangladesh squeezing into the sixth qualifying spot.

Bangladesh finished seventh at the Asian Games in Japan earlier this month.