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| London to host Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 |
Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 which was supposed to be played in Argentina has now been shifted to England’s Olympic Park after the contract between FIH and CAF (Argentina Hockey Federation) to host the tournament was cancelled due to undisclosed reasons.
After last three editions tinkering with two different formats featuring 8 teams each, FIH decided to go
back to the same one used up until the 2010 edition which consisted of a six-team, round robin tournament.
The tournament will start on June 10 and the finals of the tournament will be played on June 17. Men Champions Trophy will precede the women’s Champions trophy will be played from June 18. Great Britain who is hosts of the tournament will be joined by Olympics Champions Germany and World Cup winner Australia along with South Korea who won Hockey Champions Challenge 2014. FIH executive board has invited Belgium and India to participate in the tournament.
FIH had earlier invited Pakistan to participate in the tournament but Pakistan Hockey Federation turned down the offer fearing ‘fear of defeat’. PHF secretary Shahbaz Sr. said there was no point in sending the team for the tournament as they expected the team would finish last in the tournament. FIH are not pleased with the decision of Pakistan snubbing the tournament and their displeasure has been made known to the PHF.
The opening day will see India face Olympics Champions Germany in the first match of the day while rivals Australia and Great Britain will face each other in the last match of the day.
FIH CEO Kelly Fairweather said: “Following the hugely successful Olympics Games and EuroHockey Championships held in this venue, we know that England Hockey and all of their partners will truly embrace FIH Hockey Revolution’s vision of creating innovative and exciting events for our fans. This is key to our aim of making hockey a global game that inspires the next generation.”
Schedule of Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 is as follows:
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Date
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Team
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VS
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Team
|
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10th June
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Germany
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VS
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India
|
|
Belgium
|
VS
|
Korea
|
|
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Great Britain
|
VS
|
Australia
|
|
|
11th June
|
Germany
|
VS
|
Belgium
|
|
India
|
VS
|
Great Britain
|
|
|
Australia
|
VS
|
Korea
|
|
|
12th June
|
Rest Day
|
||
|
13th June
|
Korea
|
VS
|
Great Britain
|
|
Germany
|
VS
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Australia
|
|
|
Belgium
|
VS
|
India
|
|
|
14th June
|
India
|
VS
|
Korea
|
|
Australia
|
VS
|
Belgium
|
|
|
Great Britain
|
VS
|
Germany
|
|
|
15th June
|
Rest Day
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||
|
16th June
|
Australia
|
VS
|
India
|
|
Korea
|
VS
|
Germany
|
|
|
Great Britain
|
VS
|
Belgium
|
|
|
17th June
|
5/6 Placing
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||
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3/4 Placing
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Final
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(Image Source: England Hockey Website)
