Hockey India is set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Bihar State Sports Authority on March 31, for the upcoming Men’s Hockey Asia Cup, set to be played in Rajgir this year.
Buoyed by the organisational success of Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2024, the first-ever international sporting event in Bihar, the Rajgir Sports Complex will be hosting the men’s Asia Cup between August 27 and September 7.
The event will also be a qualifying event for the 2026 World Cup and therefore a much bigger and prestigious event.
“Now that we have hosted a women’s six-nation event, we are better prepared for a bigger challenge and want to push ourselves with a men’s event,” Bihar State Sports Authority Director-General and CEO Raveendran Sankaran confirmed to Sportstar.
“The Asia Cup, being a qualifying event for the World Cup, is also very prestigious and we are confident of drawing even more people than we did this time around.”
The Asia Cup is an eight-team event with the winner getting a ticket to the 2026 World Cup in Belgium and Netherlands.
Apart from India, it is likely to have Japan, Korea, Malaysia, China and arch-rival Pakistan, besides a couple of qualifiers from the AHF Cup. The presence of Pakistan will clearly add to both excitement and security concerns but officials insist they are well prepared.