The five-nation Hero Asian Champions Trophy Dhaka 2021 organized by Asian Hockey Federation and hosted by Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF), begins today on December 14 at the Maulana Bhashani National Stadium in the capital Dhaka of Bangladesh.
Asian Hockey Federation announced the fixture of the six-nation prestigious tournament on Thursday, 11 November 2021. Due to pandemic related complications Malaysia withdrew from the event and the competition schedule was changed to a five-nation event. The updated schedule was announced on 11 December 2021.
Five leading Asian Teams – India, Korea, Japan, Pakistan and host Bangladesh – will vie for the championship title in the league-based matches from 14 to 22 December, 2021.
Five teams will compete to make their way to semi-finals. Four top teams will play in the semifinals on December 21 with top team playing against 4th ranked team while the 2nd ranked to face 3rd ranked team.
Japanese Hockey Team was the first foreign side to reach the capital on Wednesday (December 8) night to participate in the six-nation Hero Asian Champions Trophy Dhaka 2021 beginning on January 14 at the Maulana Bhashani National Stadium.
All the five teams have made it to the capital. A magnanimous opening ceremony was held on Monday 13 December at the Maulana Bhashani Hockey Stadium. Championship Trophy was displayed in the ceremony. All the team captains spoke on the occasion and addressed their expectations from the event. The top officials from Bangladesh Hockey Federation and Asian Hockey Federation participated in the opening ceremony.
Before the opening ceremony all teams took part in the extensive training to prepare for the event. Practice matches were also played at the venue.
