Hockey India on Monday announced Chennai, Tamil Nadu as the venue for the forthcoming Asian Champions Trophy 2023. This is the first time India will host the event.
This will be the seventh edition of the coveted tournament and it is scheduled to be held from August 3 to 12. The tournament will serve as a precursor to the Hangzhou Asian Games in September where teams will vie to win gold and qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Chennai last hosted an international hockey event in 2007 when the prestigious Asia Cup was held and the venue proved to be lucky for the home team who clinched the title beating Korea 7-2 in the Final.
India had won the Asian Champions Trophy in the inaugural edition held in 2011 and beat Pakistan in the final to win the title in 2016. In the following edition in 2018, India were joint winners with Pakistan after rain affected the proceedings of the final held in Muscat.
India and Pakistan are the most successful nations in the tournament having won three titles each. South Korea are the defending champions having beaten Japan in the final of the 2021 edition. India finished third after beating Pakistan in the the third-place playoff match.