The Asia Cup trophy that was unveiled in Rajgir, the venue of the tournament, recently.
| Photo Credit: X@asia_hockey
With exactly 10 days to go for the crucial Asia Cup, the Asian Hockey Federation has finally announced the competition schedule following the official refusal from Pakistan and withdrawal of Oman from the event.
The change in teams has led to the pools at the competition also being updated with India now clubbed with China, Japan and Kazakhstan in Pool A. Malaysia, Korea, Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei are in Pool B.
While Pakistan’s refusal to travel and its replacement with Bangladesh was confirmed earlier with only the official announcement awaited, Oman withdrew early on Tuesday and has been replaced by the second reserve team Kazakhstan.
Oman had qualified by virtue of winning the AHF Cup earlier this year but no official reason has been cited for its withdrawal. Bangladesh and Kazakhstan had finished third and fourth respectively.
India will open its campaign against China on the opening day, followed by Japan on August 31 and Kazakhstan on September 1. The tournament is being played in a double-round robin format with the pool stage followed by the Super 4s where the top two from each pool qualify. In the Super 4s they will play each other once with the top two qualifying for the final.
The Asia Cup is scheduled from August 29-September 7 at the Rajgir Sports Complex, with the winner qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Pool A: India, China, Japan, Kazakhstan; Pool B: Malaysia, Korea, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei.
Published – August 19, 2025 06:00 pm IST
