Asian Games 2023 Hockey: When will Indian men and women team start their campaign?

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India men's hockey team will kickstart their Asian Games 2023 campaign against Uzbekistan on September 24, while the women's team will lock horns against Singapore on September 27 in their first match.

The schedule for hockey was jointly announced by the Hangzhou Asian Games organising committee and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) on Tuesday, after approval from the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

Indian Men's Hockey Team are placed in Pool A along with reigning Asian Games Champions Japan, and arch-rivals Pakistan. Bangladesh, Singapore, and Uzbekistan complete Pool A. Korea, Malaysia, China, Oman, Thailand and Indonesia are the remaining nations competing at the Games and are placed in Pool B.

"We are placed along with some strong teams in our pool, including Japan, who won the Gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. But we will treat all team at par and will not be taking any competition lightly," India men's team captain Harmanpreet Singh said.

"We are already getting a chance to compete with some of these nations at the ongoing Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023, and we will look forward to use this experience to our advantage in the future. Our coaches have always instilled in us that we need to be prepared for all rivals," Harmanpreet added ahead of India's clash against neighbouring rivals Pakistan, which will be played on Wednesday (August 9).

Meanwhile, Indian Women's Hockey Team, who won the Silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, is placed in Pool A along with Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong China, and Singapore.

Speaking on the pool stage, India women's captain Savita said, "We are placed along with some strong teams in our pool. But we are confident that the work that we have done over the past year at the camp and at the training session will help us achieve good results in the competition."

Savita also praised the unity in the Indian camp and said that the team will have to perform at their best to ensure they are able to finish at the podium. "Hangzhou Asian Games is an important event, especially with a chance to earn a direct Olympic qualification."