The Hindu: India to face Pakistan in Asian Champions Trophy

The Indian men’s hockey team will take on Pakistan in an international competition for the first time in six months when the teams face off at the fourth Asian Champions Trophy in Kuantan, Malaysia, in October.

The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) has announced the schedule for the tournament, to be held from October 20 to 30. This will be the first edition of the tournament since it was included as the third continental ranking event inAsia by the FIH earlier this year and the first post-Olympics, where India was the only team from the continent to qualify.

Besides India, Pakistan and host Malaysia, other teams are China, Korea and Japan. The tournament will be played in the round-robin format.

It would also be the first outing for India after the Rio Olympics. The last time India and Pakistan met was also in Malaysia, during the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, when India thrashed Pakistan 5-1 despite resting several senior players.

India’s schedule: Oct. 20: vs Japan; Oct. 22: vs Korea; Oct. 23: vs Pakistan; Oct. 25: vs China; Oct. 26: vs Malaysia; Oct. 29: classification matches; Oct. 30: Final.