India look to win the Hockey Asia Cup after eight years as Bihar gears to host the regional event, in which eight teams are taking part. India head coach Craig Fulton stated that India are confident of winning the tournament but are not looking to take teams lightly.
India hockey head coach Craig Fulton sees that his team is confident of winning the Asia Cup 2025 and qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Bihar will be hosting the Hockey Asia Cup that gets underway on August 29 with eight teams looking to put their best foot forward in the tournament.
India won the regional event in 2017 after beating Malaysia 2-1; however, they finished third in 2022, behind champions South Korea and runners-up Malaysia. Coach Fulton highlighted the team’s preparations and feels the team can win this tournament.
“The team’s preparation has been solid for this tournament. Our approach will be similar to that of the Paris Olympics, where we began with good wins in the pool stage.
“We want to start well here, take it game-by-game, build on our momentum,ย and we are cognisant that it’s been eight years since India last won the title (in 2017, Dhaka). While we are confident of winning, we don’t want to take any team lightly,” India’s chief coach Craig Fulton said before the tournament.
India have fielded a strong squad for the tournament as the winner will earn a direct qualification for the World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands next year. India will be playing in Rajgir, the venue for the Asia Cup.
“We are very happy to arrive in Bihar for this prestigious tournament. It is great that international hockey is being hosted here, and we want to inspire the people of this region with our game and create more fans for the sport,” Fulton stated.
Meanwhile, Captain Harmanpreet also praised the city for hosting the tournament.
“We have never played in Bihar, and it’s exciting to see that Rajgir is already hosting its second international hockey tournament within a span of one year. This shows the government’s intent to support the game, and we are looking forward to the love and support of hockey fans here throughout the tournament,” he said.
The tournament will begin on August 29 with all eight teams playing their fixtures. Malaysia and Bangladesh will kick the tournament off with their clash scheduled to begin at 9 AM. India will be up against China in their opener on the same day at 3 PM.ย
The Men in Blue will face Japan in their second clash on August 31, followed by their last Pool game against Kazakhstan on September 1. The top two teams from the two pools will qualify for the Super 4s, which will be played from September 3 onwards.ย
Notably, the top two teams from the Super 4s will directly qualify for the final, which is scheduled to take place on September 7.