As soon as the International Hockey Federation (FIH) decided to shift men’s Champions Trophy from Pakistan owing to security concerns, India, Malaysia and Spain have jumped into the fray for the hosting right of the prestigious tournament.
The tournament, which is a seven-team event, features world’s top six sides — Germany, Australia, Netherlands, South Korea, Pakistan and Spain — besides the hosts and both Malaysia and India, who are not among the top six, are eager to host it to get that automatic entry.
Pakistan’s volatile security scenario forced FIH to move the event which was originally scheduled in Lahore from December 1-9.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) is confident of bagging the hosting right and its secretary general Datuk Dr SS Cheema said
We submitted a detailed bid to the FIH on Sept 6 stating our interest to host the Champions Trophy if the FIH moves it from Pakistan. There was no time frame given on the bid document, but we were told a decision will be made as soon as possible on the new host.
In case they win it, the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil would be the venue of the event.
