Indian males’s hockey crew captain Harmanpreet Singh on Tuesday stated the impending Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai shall be a “litmus test” for the facet forward of the Asian Games to be held in September-October later this 12 months.
The 7th version of the Asian Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held from August 3 to twelve, serving as a precursor to the Hangzhou Asian Games in September the place groups will vie for gold and qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.
“For many people, it is going to be the primary time that we will be able to be enjoying in Chennai. I take into account our seniors speaking concerning the Asia Cup in 2007 held in Chennai which was once an ideal match for India, protecting the identify in a a success marketing campaign, Singh stated in a unencumber.
“This shall be an excellent match for us to look the place we stand in opposition to the similar groups with whom we will be able to be competing within the Asian Games. It shall be a litmus take a look at for the crew forward of the Asian Games.
“It will also give us a good understanding of our opponents and we can further prepare well for the Asian Games where we aim to win the gold medal and directly qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.”
India gained the Asian Champions Trophy within the inaugural version in 2011 and beat Pakistan within the ultimate in 2016 to reclaim the identify. In the next version in 2018, India have been joint winners with Pakistan after rain affected the lawsuits in Muscat.
In the former version in 2021 held in Dhaka, the Indian crew completed with a bronze medal.
With Korea and Malaysia showcasing just right shape in World Cup 2023 in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, Harmanpreet stated that the contest shall be intense.
“Korea has shown great progress over the last couple of years. They won the Asia Cup in Jakarta last year and also did very well in the World Cup,” the ace dragflicker stated.
“Malaysia too is a strong contender for the title and they continue to have one of the best penalty-corner attacks. It will undoubtedly be a hard-fought tournament.”