Proposal for Asian Academy

Ipoh: A proposal to start an Asian Academy was approved at the council meeting of the Asian Hockey Federation on Friday.

A panel headed by Abdul Rahim Bin Muhammad Ariff, President, Perak Hockey Association, was formed to prepare a feasibility report on the project to the AHF.

Detailing on the deliberations of the meeting, Tan Sri P. Alagendra, Secretary-General, AHF, explained that the idea of an academy was conceived to be in the pattern of the NIS in Patiala and also the ones in Australia and Germany. The Academy will focus on training coaches, umpire and technical officials to handle class one international competitions.

Apart from senior officials connected with sports and hockey in Malaysia, two members of the AHF development Committee, Fumio Ogura and Thyaab Ikram, will assist the panel in preparing the report.

The inaugural men’s Asian Champions Trophy, which could not be held this year, will now be held in China. The venue is to be decided shortly. Sri Lanka and Doha have agreed to conduct the Asian club championships for men and women respectively.

The top six of the Asian Games will qualify for the men’s Champions Trophy. The women’s event, to come off in Pusan, from July 24-31 will have four top teams, China, Japan, Korea and India in the fray.

The indoor championship to be held in Ipoh from July 6 to 11 will be the qualifying event for the next World Cup to come off at Poznan (Poland) in 2011. — Hockey Correspondent