The stage for the 10th Asia Cup hockey tournament is all set as the eight teams
begin their fight for the title of the showcase event of Asian hockey, beginning in Dhaka on Wednesday, being held in Bangladesh for the second time after a gap of 32 years.
South Korea, India and Pakistan have shared all the nine previous trophies among them and each of the nine finals so far have featured no other teams but these three. This time too, these three teams are the major title contenders for this event, which will also offer a place for next year's World Cup to be held in India.
India are confirmed a spot as the World Cup host nation while Malaysia and Pakistan have also got tickets for the 16-team tournament after having finished fifth and seventh in the Hockey World League (HWL) semifinal round in London.
Apart from those three teams, four-time Asia Cup champions South Korea intend to lift the title for a third consecutive time as well as qualify for the World Cup while teams like Japan, China, hosts Bangladesh and Oman want to show their best in the tournament.
All the teams' captains appeared at an official press conference at the Pan Pacific Sonargon Hotel yesterday to brief the media about their preparations and targets for the tournament. "Everyone wants to win the tournament but it is modern hockey and anything can happen as all the teams have come here with good preparation. We can't underestimate any opponent," said India captain Manpreet Singh, whose side last lifted the trophy in 2007 and finished sixth in the recent HWLsemifinal round.
India will begin their campaign against Japan and will go on to meet their bitter rivals Pakistan on October 15.
The Pakistan captain Mohammad Irfan is also hopeful about doing well in the tournament even though the three-time champions could not produce good results in the HWL semifinal round.
"There was disappointment regarding our performance in the last competition as our results were poor in the World Cup qualifiers. However, some key players returned to the squad along with 3 to 4 junior players. Everyone is
ready to perform well," said Irfan, who played for Abahani in the Bangladesh Premier League last season.
Though South Korea are the most coveted side in the tournament, they have been going through a bad patch after finishing ninth in the HWL semifinals. However, they are determined to ensure their hattrick title as well as qualification for the World Cup.
"Korea came here to become champions and qualify for the
World Cup. All players are ready to take the challenge," said South Korea captain Seung-il Lee.
Malaysia, meanwhile, are hoping to play the final for the first time as they come into this tournament as the second-ranked side in Asia after India, who they have even beat recently.
"After returning from London, we have taken good preparation for the tournament and our target is to reach the final. If we can't do that, we would like to finish third. We have not won any Asia Cup before, but it is possible to write history because we have worked hard," said Malaysia captain Mohammad Sukri Abdul Motaleb.
Japan captain Yamashita wants to improve their position by finishing fifth and believes their youthful side is capable of pulling off victories against any side.
"Though we have only two players with experience of playing the Asia Cup, I believe we have the strength to pull off victories because our attackers are very fast and we also have good penalty corner specialists in the side," said Yamashita.
Rasel Mahmud Jimmy, captain of the Bangladesh side, who enter this tournament as the lowest-ranked team, said they would tty to do their best.
"If we can play as a team and implement our plans accordingly, we can do well against any side in the tournament," said the veteran forward.