The Men’s Junior Asia Cup & Junior World Cup Qualifier Dhaka is set to take place from the 21st to 30th of January, 2021 at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The new dates approved by the FIH, come in after the postponement of the event due to the global pandemic situation. The tournament will witness stiff competition among the top-performing teams from across Asia with big stakes at play, as the three highest-finishing teams will join automatically qualified host India in the next Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup.
The premier junior continental tournament will for the first-time feature ten teams that consist of the host nation Bangladesh along with China, Chinese Taipei, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan.
Dato Tayyab Ikram confirmed that there has been an extension of the age limit i.e. players will be eligible to participate if they are born on or after 1 January 1999. This also means that the players who are eligible to play in 2020 now will have the opportunity to play on the suggested dates in 2021.
President Bangladesh Hockey Federation, Air Chief Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat commented: “Hockey is discipline and discipline means going ahead. Hopefully, we shall come back in turf with the ‘Men’s Junior Asia Cup & Junior World Cup Qualifier by January 2021.”
Asian Hockey Federation President, Dato Fumio Ogura had the following to say on the matter: “Due to the event being delayed owing to the pandemic, Junior players and audiences have been anxiously awaiting the Men’s Junior Asia Cup & Junior World Cup Qualifier. I am proud to reveal that the new dates for the event have been confirmed and I am looking forward to a fantastic event and thrilling match action.”
