COVID-19: AHF Postpone Two Major Asian Tournaments

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- The national senior men’s and women’s hockey squads have to wait longer to return to international competitions following the postponement of two major Asian championships. According to the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF), the 2021 Men’s Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka, Bangladesh from March 11-19 and the 2021 Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in Donghae, South Korea from March 31-April 7 have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Asian hockey governing body said the decision to postpone both events to the second half of this year was taken in the interests of the safety and well-being of all participants. AHF pointed out that the strict lockdowns imposed by several governments in Asia to curb the pandemic had also barred teams from conducting training. “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,” AHF said on their website. “Finally, the new variant of the COVID-19 has severely crippled the world once again, and we cannot continue in the face of this new threat,” AHF added. AHF said the postponement had been approved by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), adding that the women’s and men’s meets are likely to be held in September and October respectively. -- BERNAMA