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Victor Bolorunduro
Doha
The Asia Cup 2017, the biggest indoor hockey tournament to be hosted by Qatar, will kick-off at the Aspire Dome in Doha on Monday with ten countries participating in the men's and women's event.
Iran, Qatar, Malaysia, Oman, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, China and DPR Korea are participating in the five-day tournament which runs until April 28.
The men's event comprises of eight teams drawn into two pools.
Host Qatar are drawn in Pool A alongside Iran, Malaysia and Oman while Kazakhstan, the hosts of the 2015 tournament, are in Pool B with Uzbekistan, Taiwan and Thailand.
The top two teams from each group will play in the cross-over semi-finals while the finalists will automatically qualify for the 2018 Hockey Indoor World Cup to be held from February 7-11 in Berlin, Germany.
The women's category comprising defending champions Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uzbekistan, China and North Korea will be a round-robin affair with the top two teams meeting in the final.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Qatar Rugby, Hockey and Cricket Federations (QRHCF) President Youssef Jaham al Kuwari said,"We have been training hard for this tournament and we are well prepared and ready to give our best. We know it is not easy considering that we are drawn in the same group with Iran who have always been the winners of the tournament since it was launched in 2008. The group is going to be tough but I've confidence in the team."
No other country beside Iran has won the tournament, which is governed by the Asian Hockey Federation (ASHF), since its introduction in 2008.
Defending champions Iran defeated hosts Kazakhstan 9-2 in the final 2015 edition held in Taldykorgan.
Speaking about Qatar's preparation ahead of the tournament, Kuwari said,"The team had training camps in South Korea and Thailand where they faced tough challenges and performed credibly well. One of the major factors in favour of this team is the fact that they've been together for about six years now and they've blended well. I see them translating their preparations to good performance on the court at the tournament."
Qatar's hockey as witnessed a rapid development in the last two years with the country now ranked 20th in the world for indoor and 54th for outdoor. In Asia, Qatar is currently ranked 4th in indoor and for the outdoor, 13th.
"Hockey is gradually becoming popular in the country and we are working on having more local players take to the sport. Hockey is very entertaining and we believe that with this kind of tournament, it will generate more interest as well as participation in Qatar," Kuwari added.
Meanwhile, Maggid Abu Talib, the coach of the Qatar national team, said his players are up to the task against any opposition at the tournament.
"The atmosphere in the camp is quite great and the boys are ready to give their best and make the country proud. We have moved from almost an unknown entity to a well respected team on the continent in the last two years. We are on the ascendancy and we believe winning this tournament will be a most important jewel added to our crown," the 32-year-old coach added.
Giving a breakdown of the team's progress since 2015, Talib said,"We finished fourth at the 2015 Indoor Asia Cup in Kazakhstan and second at the 2015 Arab Cup in Qatar. The Arab Cup was of particular interest as we did not lose any match. We played four matches and we won three and drew one."
The four-nation Arab Cup was hosted at the Aspire Dome from June 10 to 13 with Qatar, Sudan, Oman and the UAE participating.
Qatar defeated Sudan 7-0 in their first match of the round-robin tournament before trouncing Oman 6-4 and then the UAE 8-1. The final match was between Oman and Qatar which Oman won 1-0 in shoot-out after the match had ended 5-5 in regulation time.
Qatar will be opening their quest for the Asia Cup champions' trophy with their opening match against Oman by 8:00pm on Monday.
