The 8th edition of the Bihar Women’s Asian Champions Trophy Rajgir 2024 that begins on Monday (11th Oct) will be the start of a new chapter for the Malaysians against the mesmerizing backdrop of formidable oppositions.
Paris Olympic silver medalists China, ranked World No 2, go into the tournament as favourites, followed by India at ninth. Two-time champions Japan is at World No 11, the South Koreans, the most successful team in the competition with three titles, are World No. 15, followed by Malaysia (23rd) and Thailand (29th).
In the 2023 edition, the Malaysians defeated Thailand 1-0 in the fifth-sixth place match.
Mohamed Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim’s Malaysian Tigress, who arrived in Bihar with 10 national junior squad players, will face defending champions India in their first match on Monday (playoff 7:15 pm Malaysian time) in front of an expected full capacity crowd at the newly-developed Rajgir Hockey Stadium.
Their remaining matches are against China (Nov12), South Korea (Nov 14), Japan (Nov 16) and conclude the pool matches against Thailand (Nov 17). The semifinals are scheduled on Nov 19 and final on Nov 20.
Following a display of the Champions Trophy in Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, and Jharkhand before its scheduled arrival in Rajgir on November 10, the Indians are seriously looking to defend its continental title.
In the previous edition of the ACT that was held in Ranchi last year, India defeated Japan 4-0 in the final to win their second title. The first was in 2016.
This tournament marks the Indian women’s hockey team’s first Asian competition under Chief Coach Harendra Singh, who took charge earlier this year, replacing Janneke Schopmanafter the team failed to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
As much as the Indians will face their major assignment, the same can be said of the Tigress who toured Wales for a series of friendly and test matches in preparation for the Asian Champions Trophy.
“Our early training sessions in Kuala Lumpur were geared towards our preparations for the match against India, especially in their playing structure under new coach Harendra. The players and coaches have viewed video recordings of India’s matches. We held discussions with the players and came up with several structures to counter them,” said Nasihin.
The former international, who competed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said the players have been told to remain focused and play hard for the entire match against the Indians who players are individually skilful and speed is their forte.
“They are ranked higher than us and are playing on home turf with support from fans. We must anticipate that they will play an attacking game. Hence, we must stay focused and play our game,” he added.
“The encounter against India is one that is going to be a litmus test. It will determine our mental strength. The players know what is expected of them and what they need to do on the field against the Indians. We will have to stop them from scoring and also earn points,” said Nasihan.
With the tournament’s logo reflecting Bihar’s cultural richness and development, and the mascot ‘Gudia’ inspired by the state bird, the sparrow, this event promises to be a thrilling blend of sports and heritage.
Harendra, speaking on the official Hockey India website, said: “Each team will come with the goal of winning the trophy, and we have spent the last five months preparing with the Asian Champions Trophy in mind. We identified areas for improvement, such as combinations and decision-making in the shooting circle, and have worked on them.”
“I am confident that hockey fans will witness a new side of the Indian women’s hockey team this time, and they won’t be disappointed.”
India’s captain Salima Tete observed: “We have been training rigorously at SAI Bengaluru for the ACT. In previous matches, we faced challenges in the final third of the pitch, so we have focused significantly on improving in that area. We will take it match–by–match. Every team poses a different challenge, and we won’t take any opponents lightly.”