After consulting with the participating teams and FIH, the Asian Hockey Federation unfortunately informs today that the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy Dhaka 2021 and the Women’s Donghae Asian Champions Trophy 2021 must be postponed.
First and foremost, the Asian Hockey Federation puts on record and appreciates the efforts of both the Bangladesh Hockey Federation and the Korea Hockey Association for their extraordinary efforts to secure this event. Unfortunately, the circumstances and ongoing pandemic have forced an unfavorable outcome.
The decision of the postponement has been a difficult one, and has been made in consultation with the host, the FIH and all participating National Associations. The concern for athletes’ safety, health, and welfare is at the forefront of our minds while taking this decision. The threat of uneven circumstances and unfavourable conditions faced by the participating teams is another factor. The Asian Hockey Federation constantly strives to provide equal opportunity to all, and therefore cannot go ahead under these uneven circumstances. The vastly different conditions our Member NAs face, with some currently training and competing as normal in their countries while other teams are prohibited from even training by strict lockdowns, have also influenced our decision. Finally, the new variant of the COVID virus has severely crippled the world once again, and we cannot continue in the face of this new threat.
The postponement of both events to the second half of the year has been approved by FIH and new dates, which are likely to be in September (for Women)/October 2021 (for Men), will be finalized and communicated as soon as possible.
Dato Fumio Ogura, President Asian Hockey Federation on this occasion said, “The decision of postponement has been difficult for the Asian Hockey Federation. But after consulting with the hosts, the participating teams, and the FIH we had to make this unfortunate announcement. The safety, health and welfare of the athletes comes first for us, while we also strive to provide equal opportunity for all. The different circumstances of our member NAs and the threat of uneven circumstances and unfavourable conditions faced by the participating teams also influenced our decision. We wish everyone health and safety from the pandemic and also hope to bring hockey back on the pitch soon.””.