FIH circular to India, Malaysia to gear up for Champions Trophy

Chennai, Sep 25 (UNI) The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has sent a circular to the Indian and Malaysian Hockey Federations to be in a state of preparedness to host the next Champions Trophy tournament from November 29 to December nine, after having shifted it from the original venue of Lahore in Pakistan.

FIH, it may be recalled, was forced to change the venue following security concerns in the wake of clashes in Pakistan.

According to Indian Hockey Federation(IHF) Secretary K Jyothikumaran here, a final decision on the allotment of the competition to India or Malaysia would be taken by this weekend after top officials of FIH hold a meeting with the sponsors 'Samsung'.

Apart from altering the dates, FIH had also increased the number of teams from six to eight. Great Britain had won a berth in the tournament, having finished in the fifth position in the last World Cup. The host country, however, would be given a direct entry.

If allotted, Malaysia would be hosting the tournament for the first time, while India would be staging it for the third time as Chennai, had hosted it twice, and this time also the southern city was being tipped to do so again in case India was asked to play host.

UNI