Looking forward to playing in the Men's Asian Champions Trophy 2024 and defending our title: Hardik Singh

The Asian Hockey Federation announced on Wednesday that the Men's Asian Champions Trophy 2024 will be held in Hulunbuir City of Inner Mongolia, China from 8 to 17 September 2024. The teams that have qualified for this edition include China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan and defending champions India.

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Speaking on the importance of the tournament, Indian men's hockey team vice-captain Hardik Singh said, "The Asian Champions Trophy is a prestigious tournament where teams battle to claim the title of being the best hockey team in Asia. We aim to be the best team in the world, and an important step in that journey will be to retain the trophy and solidify our position as the best team in Asia".

Reflecting on the team's performance, Hardik further said, "The Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai was a spectacular tournament. As a team, we were still adapting to the new style of play under chief coach Craig Fulton, and claiming the gold medal was a testament to the progress the team had made under him. We also had the mental trainer Paddy Upton with us to help us along the way, and the team showed immense character to keep their wits about them and turn things around when we were trailing to Malaysia in the Final."

India emerged victorious in the last edition of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 held in Chennai from August 3 to 12. They topped the pool with 4 wins and 1 draw, the draw being against Japan. They again faced Japan in the semi-finals and won 5-0. In the final, India was trailing 3-1 at half time but goals from captain Harmanpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh and Akashdeep Singh in the second half ensured that India became the champion of Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023.

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"Coming back from behind to win the tournament was a special feeling, and looking back, I feel the team used that game as a springboard to reach greater heights. There is no doubt that we are looking forward to playing in the Men's Asian Champions Trophy 2024 and defending our title," Hardik concluded.