New Delhi, The Sports Ministry has expressed its support for Hockey India to nominate two separate teams for the Asian Games and the World Cup later this year. The decision comes amid concerns over player burnout due to the close proximity of the two events.
The Asian Games are scheduled to take place from September 19 to October 4 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, while the World Cup will be held from August 15 to 30 in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Although the events do not technically clash, the lack of turnaround time for players is being seen as a major concern. However, neither the men's head coach Craig Fulton nor his women's team counterpart Sjoerd Marijne are in favour of sending two teams, insisting that the same sides should go for both high-intensity events.
A ministry source stated, "There should be two teams ideally and the A teams should be for the Asian Games because that's an Olympic qualifier." The ministry has already conveyed this to the national federations that they should have a highly competitive B team ready for competitions at all times.
The gold-winners in both the men's and women's competitions in the Asian Games would make the cut for the Los Angeles Games in 2028. The biennial World Cup is the marquee competition in the sport, and both Fulton and Marijne are expectedly focused on delivering results after a challenging last season and a topsy-turvy year so far for both teams.
Hockey India Secretary General Bholanath Singh stated, "We will send the best teams in both the Asian Games and World Cup, we haven't decided or selected the squads yet. We are taking all factors into account."
