India to play in Hockey Champions trophy at London
India will participate in the 36th edition of the men’s Hockey Champions trophy from 10-17 June 2016, hosted by London after FIH cancelled the contract with Confederacion Argentina de Hockey to host the event. The women’s event will also take place at the same venue from June 18 to 26.
In the men’s section, India is scheduled to take on World Champions Australia, Olympic and defending champions Germany, Belgium, Great Britain and South Korea. The tournament will also be the last chance for the teams to assess their strengths and weaknesses before the Rio Olympics in August.
Great Britain qualified for the tournament as the host nation, while Australia and Germany made it to the tournament as World champions and Olympic champions respectively. India and Belgium made it to the tournament as invitees from the FIH Executive Board, and South Korea qualified after winning the 2014 Champions Challenge I.
The 2014 edition of the tournament was held in Bhubaneswar, India and was won by Germany after defeating Pakistan 2-0 in the final. India finished fourth and missed out on a bronze medal after losing the third place playoff 1-2 to World Champions Australia.
In the women’s section, hosts Great Britain will take on World and Olympic champions Netherlands, 2014-15 Hockey World League winners Argentina, 2014 Champions Challenge I winner United states, Australia and New Zealand.
The venue for the tournament was shifted from Argentina to England after the International Hockey Federation cancelled the contract with the Confederacion Argentina de Hockey (CAH).
"FIH had to terminate all contractual agreements with the Confederacion Argentina de Hockey (CAH) following CAH's position that it is unable to fulfil its contractual obligations in regards to television rights, sponsorship and the hosting of events," an FIH spokesperson was quoted as saying by BBC.