Coronavirus Outbreak: No international matches for Indian hockey teams till June

New Delhi: Two FIH Pro League ties involving the senior men’s team, junior men’s Asia Cup and senior women’s Asian Champions Trophy are among a host of international hockey events, where India was scheduled to take part, that have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter to Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) CEO Rajesh Rajagopalan, Hockey India informed about the postponement of the events which were a part of its Annual Calendar for Training and Competitions (ACTC).

Throw🔙 to the time we held outdoor photoshoots! 📷#IndiaKaGame pic.twitter.com/5WOC80mlR1

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) April 7, 2020

The junior women’s Asia Cup (6-12 April in Kakamigahara, Japan), senior women’s team’s tour of Germany and Netherlands (11-17 April, 18 -27 April), men’s team’s away Pro League matches against Germany and England (24 April to 5 May), junior men’s Asia Cup (4-12 June, Dhaka), women’s Asian Champions Trophy (14-21 June, Donghae, Korea) and UCD U-23 6-Nations Tournament involving junior women (14-27 June, Dublin) are the events which have been affected by the global pandemic.

“The new dates for the above-mentioned tournaments will be intimated to SAI once finalised and approved by the International Hockey Federation and the Asian Hockey Federation,” Hockey India executive director RK Srivastava said in the letter.

“The approved budget in the ACTC for the period up to 30 September 2020 would be utilised for foreign exposures/tournaments once the new scheduled is worked out, post the COVID-19 situation,” he added.

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