The Hindu : Sport / Hockey : Asia Cup championship from July 11

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Asia Cup championship from July 11

HYDERABAD: The Indian Olympic Association, as part of its efforts to give a new direction to the sport, will organise a brain-storming session with former Olympians during the eight-nation Junior Asia Cup hockey championship in the city from July 11 to 18 to come out with a ‘road map’ for a better future, according to V. Dinesh Reddy, president of Hyderabad Hockey Association.

“This is essentially to get valuable inputs from the former internationals on what exactly should be done to put Indian hockey back on international map on a successful note,” Mr. Reddy said while addressing the media here on Sunday. “The internationals from the State will also be invited for the discussion to be held in camera under the chairmanship of Suresh Kalmadi, president of IOA,” he said.

Schedule released

The HHA president also released the schedule of the Asia Cup and pointed out that matches would be played on the two astro-turfs at Gachibhowli Complex. Mohd. Aslam Khan, vice-president of IOA and chief coordinator of Junior Asia Cup, said that they were determined to make every effort to ensure that Indian hockey retained its past glory. “We are pleased with the way we made a beginning as the national team was a silver medallist in the recent Azlan Shah Cup as en route it defeated three teams which qualified for Beijing Olympics,” he said.

The groupings: Pool A: India, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Pool B: Bangladesh, Korea, Oman and Pakistan.

The Schedule: July 11: Singapore vs. Malaysia; Pakistan vs. Oman; Bangladesh vs. Korea; India vs. Japan. July 12: Singapore vs. Japan; Malaysia vs. India. July 13: Oman vs. Bangladesh; Korea vs. Pakistan. July 14: Malaysia vs. Japan; Pakistan vs. Bangladesh; Korea vs. Oman; India vs. Singapore. July 15: Rest day. July 16: Semifinals; July 17: Play-off matches. July 18: Final. — Principal Correspondent