Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) hockey tournaments for both men and women were postponed till the second half of the year by the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The men’s edition of the ACT was supposed to be held in Dhaka from March 11 to 19, while the women’s event was to be organised in Donghae, South Korea from March 31 to April 6.
Both the tournaments were scheduled to be held last year but were postponed because of the deadly virus.
“We had to arrive at this decision keeping in mind a number of factors but first and foremost was the safety, health and welfare of the players. AHF did not want to put athletes in any danger under these challenging circumstances. Another major factor to postpone the AHF’s most awaited event, was the challenges countries faced in holding national camps,” said AHF chief executive Tayyab Ikram.
“Different scenarios emerged from different countries. While some countries have resumed training, some are in complete lockdown. They are uncertain when they will be able to open up and train. Holding the event when teams have not been able to prepare due to the COVID situation was another major concern for us at AHF as it is against the basic principle of equal opportunity,” he added.
