Asian Champions Trophy 2018 will be held in Muscat from October 18-28, 2018. ……By:ASGHAR ALI MUBARAK

Asian Champions Trophy 2018 will be held in Muscat from October 18-28, 2018.

By:ASGHAR ALI MUBARAK
The Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2018 will be held in Muscat between October 18-28, 2018. This was announced by the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF). The Oman Hockey Association will be the host of the tournament.The 5th edition of the biennial event will take place at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. The prestigious event is being held for the first time Oman, since the tournament’s inception in 2011. The event will feature hosts Oman and the top 5 sides of Asia. With Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Oman, and India to compete in Muscat, the stakes could not be higher. The Hero Asian Champions Trophy will be 5th Edition of the event. India and Pakistan have dominated the titles table, winning twice each. The first edition was held in Ordos, China, in which India defeated Pakistan in the penalty shootout. Pakistan won the 2012 edition in Doha, after a thrilling 5-4 encounter with India. Pakistan retained their title in 2013 in Kakamigahara, before India took the trophy home in the latest, 2016 edition in Kuantan, Malaysia.
Malaysia has made four appearances in the event and has won Bronze on all four occasions. The Asian number 3 side and a team known for its high-intensity performances, Malaysia will surely seek to build-up on their previous performances and claim one of the top two podium positions. Japan is the only other team to have finished on the podium, winning Silver medal in the 2013 edition. Korea, and hosts Oman, will make their third appearance of in the tournament.

This edition would mark the 5th of its kind. The 4 previous championships have been won twice each by India (2011 and 2016) and Pakistan (2012 and 2013). Oman was awarded the rights to hold this edition, with previous editions being held in Malaysia, China, Qatar, and Japan.
Pakistan is the only side to have featured in all 4 previous finals, having won two and secured the runners-up spot in two. In the previous edition held in 2016 in Malaysia, India edged out Pakistan by a slight margin of 3-2. Malaysia has secured the 3rd spot on all previous 4 occasions.
Malaysia, come to the tournament having claimed Silver in the Asian Games 2018 as well as having played high-intensity hockey in the recently held 2018 Darwin International Hockey Open. Asian Games Gold medalist Japan would also be looking to make the Hero men’s Asian Champions Trophy another one of their success stories after their sublime campaign in Jakarta last month, where they were awarded the Gold medal.
Korea and Oman would also see this as an excellent platform to prove their mettle at one of the most prestigious tournaments of the calendar year. The time is less and the stakes high. This edition of the Asian Champions Trophy seems to have everyone on edge. The official schedule for the Hero Men’s Asian Champions Trophy has been announced by the Asian Hockey Federation. The tournament will commence from the 18th of October, and the final will be played on the 28th of October. Asian Champions and Rabobank Hockey Champions Trophy Silver Medalists, India, two time Asian Champions Trophy winners Pakistan, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, and Oman will go head to head in the 10-day event.

New Delhi (India)-headquartered Hero MotoCorp, a global partner of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and a long-term associate of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF), will be the title sponsor of the tournament. The Company supports the growth and development of Hockey through its partnership with marquee tournaments like the Hero Asia Cup 2017 and Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2018.Introduced in 2011, the inaugural Men’s Asian Champions Trophy was won by India who is also the reigning champions of the tournament, winning the final against Pakistan in Kuantan, Malaysia in 2016.The tournament will witness intense competition among some of the top performing teams from across Asia and will be the biggest Asian Hockey event prior to the World Cup which is scheduled to take place in Bhubaneswar, India from November 28 to December 16, 2018.This year, the continental tournament will feature host nation Oman, reigning champions India, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea, and Japan.India is the top ranked team amongst the competing teams at 6th position in the latest FIH Hero World Rankings. World number 12 Malaysia, world number 13 Pakistan, world number 14 South Korea, world number 16 Japan and world number 32 Oman round up an exciting mix of teams promising an exciting tournament ahead.Mr. Pawan Munjal, Chairman, MD and CEO, Hero MotoCorp, said, “Field Hockey is one of our focus sports and we have had a long standing and gratifying association with FIH. We are glad to extend our association with the Hero Asian Champions Trophy and look forward to an exciting tournament. I wish all the teams and the Oman Hockey Association the very best for a successful tournament.”
AHF President HRH Prince Abdullah Ahmad Shah was pleased to confirm the allocation to the host Nation, Oman. He said, “We are delighted by the efforts and enthusiasm of Oman Hockey Association to become a leading nation in the hockey community by hosting the Hero Asian Champions Trophy. And we are delighted to have Hero MotoCorp on board as the title sponsor.”
AHF CEO Tayyab Ikram added: “The AHF is pleased to further expand our cooperation with the Oman Hockey Association, who has become a key partner for the AHF. After the successful organization of last year’s AHF Congress, the OHA is shortly hosting the Men’s Asian Games Qualifier tournament and taking on the challenge of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy in October. I am convinced that both of the upcoming events will be great successes and will be organized with the same aspiration of excellence and diligence that we have seen so far.” He added further that, the inclusion and unparalleled dedication of a global player and premier brand of Hero MotoCorp’s stature, and enthusiasm of Asian Hockey’s National Associations, reflects the dedication of AHF and affiliated partners to take the sport to new heights.
OHA President Captain Talib Al Wahaibi said: “It will be a matter of pride for me, Oman and Oman hockey to host the Asian Champions Trophy. To have the top six teams from the Asian hockey family vying for the prestigious crown at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher will be a big thing. It will be a major boost for the Omani hockey. We have hired one of the world’s best coaches, Tahir Zaman of Pakistan. We thank Asian Hockey Federation, & specially Dato’ Tayyab Ikram, The Chief Executive AHF for giving us the responsibility of hosting the Men’s Asian champions Trophy 2018 and their continued support in developing hockey in Oman and rest of Asia.”
India defeated Pakistan 3-2 in the final of the QNET 4th Asian Champions Trophy at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Kuantan .
The Indians savored victory five years after edging Pakistan 4-2 in penalty shootout to win their maiden title in Ordos, China in 2011. Pakistan won the trophy in 2012 (Doha, Qatar) and 2013 (Kakamigahara, Japan).
This India and Pakistan final had all the ingredients of high drama and great intensity. It was the best match fans here had seen between the world No 6 Indians and Pakistan, ranked 13. Not even the pool match between the two nations which India won 3-2 takes the limelight.
Apart from the coveted trophy which was presented to the Indians by Pahang State Chief Minister, Adnan Yaakob, every player and official of the winning Indian team also received a Swiss-made Bernard H. Mayer wrist watch worth USD 1,000 presented by title sponsors QNET.
Malaysia Tigers endured another ‘fright night’ before overcoming Korea 3-1 in penalty shootouts to clinch the bronze medal. It was Malaysia’s fourth bronze medal in four editions of the Asian Champions Trophy since 2011 in Ordos, China.
India’s head coach, Roelant Otmans, said: “We were making mistakes but got away with it. Nevertheless, this was a good win for India as the last time India won a major title was the Asian Games in 2014.
“The good thing is we got back on track and played to our game plan. The win today shows we are making progress.”
Pakistan’s coach Khawaja Junaid, congratulated India for the victory in the final which he termed as “excellent final” between the two nations.
“It was a great game, excellent indeed. We came back from two goals down to level 2-2 and were pushing for the shootout until India found the winning goal. But we kept pushing for the equaliser. It was a good game.” He said, adding that Pakistan would be back at the top with more international matches in the next couple of matches.
India kept the prolific PR Sreejesh on the bench and introduced Akash Chikte in goal while Pakistan rolled out Amjad Ali for Imran Butt.
The first half ended scoreless with India rattling Pakistan with their pace. The Pakistanis made some good moves but could not capitalize on it and India won the first penalty corner in the seventh minute but Jasjit Singh Kular’s flick went far wide.
However, the real drama unfolded in the second quarter. Rupinder Pal Singh converts India’s second penalty corner in the 17th minute to give India 1-0 lead over Pakistan, blasting a powerful shot past Amjad.
The Indians shot 2-0 ahead in the 23rd minute. Sardar Singh relays a long pass to Ramandeep Singh who slides the ball in and Affan Yousuf picks it up and deflects the ball into goal.
Pakistan roared back in style, taking advantage of a lapse in the Indian defence through a penalty corner in the 26th minute. Aleem Muhammad Bilal converts and Ali Shaan equalised with a field goal in the 38th minute – his second goal of the tournament.
India had a great chance to go 3-2 in the very next minute. Kothajit Khadangbam shot from outside the circle crashes through the defence and lands into goal. India celebrated but umpire Peter Wright from South Africa called for a referral. The video clip shows the ball went inside without any deflection from the Indian forwards and thus was ruled out.
But the night belonged to India after Ramandeep passes the ball to Nikkin Thimmaiah and the latter fires it inside to the right of Amjad to give India a 3-2 lead for the third time in the match and victory.
Malaysia Tigers endured another ‘fright night’ before overcoming Korea 3-1 in penalty shootouts to clinch the bronze medal.
Goalkeeper S. Kumar, at 36 and the highly capped player among the Tigers, Firhan Ashari, Faizal Saari and Nabil Mohammad Noor turned the game around by scoring all three goals. Kumar, on his part, stopped Jung Manjae, Kim Hyeongjin and Jeong Junwoo from scoring in the shootout.
Malaysia Tigers head coach, Stephen van Huizen, said: “We did not want to finish the tournament on a low after playing some good hockey in the pool matches. Even in the semi-finals against Pakistan the players gave their best although our performance was below par.”
“A lot of players sacrificed on the field including Faizal Saari who had to rush home as his wife delivered and came back the next day from a long journey. It was an overall team effort and I am happy we managed to win the bronze medal,” added Van Huizen.
There was hardly a scent of a raucous atmosphere in this third-fourth play-off match between Korea and Malaysia unlike the Malaysia-Pakistan semi-finals encounter on Saturday which drew more than 5,000 fans.
The atmosphere was quite sedate and sombre. Except for the 15 Ultras Malaya members prodding Malaysia Tigers with patriotic songs, an estimated 2,500 were still draped and ‘mourning the painful’ defeat by the Pakistanis 24 hours earlier.
Dark clouds loomed over this east coast city of Kuantan before the start of the match. Perhaps this was a hint of how today’s proceedings would go.
And true enough, a light drizzle enveloped throughout the match that saw the Malaysians and Koreans battle for almost 13 minutes with near misses.
Malaysia Tigers earned the first penalty corner in the seventh minute but drag-flick specialist Razie Rahim’s push was stopped by Yang Jihun near the top of semi-circle. But Malaysia Tigers got the most of the counter-attacks to take a 14th minutes lead via Shahril Saabah penalty corner.
But Paul Lissek-coached Korea was back in the thick of action in the second quarter, earning a penalty corner in the 17th minute and Jung Manjae scored the equaliser.
However, the match was one filled with climax for the entire remaining duration but it was simple a case of near misses. Malaysia Tigers picked six penalty corners in total while the Koreans had three. In the end it was another fright night for fans here as the match went into penalty shootout.