South Korea to skip hockey tournament in Muscat

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Four-time Asian Games champions South Korea has expressed its inability to take part in the forthcoming international hockey tournament in Muscat that will be held at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex (SQSC) from February 14-20.

Besides four-time World Cup winners and world No 13 Pakistan, South Korea, ranked 14th in the world, was the other big attraction of the tournament.

World No 16 Japan and hosts Oman, ranked 32, are the other two teams in the event that is being seen as a build-up for bigger events like the Asian Games and the World Cup later this year.

In his remarks to Muscat Daily on Wednesday, Talib al Wahaibi, the Oman Hockey Association (OHA) president, said, 'We received a letter of regret from the South Korean hockey federation officials. As the time of notice for the friendly tournament was short, they expressed their inability to make it this time.'

Oman goalkeeper Fahad al Noufali during a training session on Tuesday

'We still have Asian superpower Pakistan and a competitive Japan side visiting Oman and we are all looking forward to top-class matches from the teams,' said Wahaibi, who is the brainchild behind the three-nation tournament.

The Oman national team has already begun its preparatory camp last week for the triangular series under newly-appointed coach Tahir Zaman of Pakistan at the SQSC.

The OHA and Zaman have also finalised the national coaching staff with Ahmed al Darmaki named the first assistant coach and Seeb coach Khalid al Raisi, the second assistant.

The triangular series will be played on a double round-robin format with the opening clash between Pakistan and Oman on February 14.

The top-two teams in the pool will clash in the final on February 20. All matches will be played at the SQSC from 6pm.

According to an OHA official, the coach has called 38 probables and will be finalising team of 24 ahead of the friendly tournament, which will serve as an ideal test for the hosts ahead of the March Asian Games qualifiers in Muscat from March 8-17.

Nine teams have so far confirmed for the Games qualifiers – Chinese Taipei, Bangladesh, Oman, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Qatar and Indonesia – with the top four making it to the Asian Games.

Indonesia has already qualified as a host nation.

Elsewhere, as part of the its preparations for the triangular series, Pakistan has begun its national camp in Karachi on Monday ahead of its visit to Muscat under its new head coach and legend Hasan Sardar.

A former Olympic gold medallist and a World Cup winner, Sardar, will be assisted by Rehan Butt and Muhammad Saqlain in the coaching set-up announced by the Pakistan Hockey Federation in the first week of January. The Asian giants are preparing for the Commonwealth Games, Champions Trophy, Asian Games and the World Cup in 2018. The Pakistan team is expected to arrive in Muscat on February 10 while Japan will arrive on February 13.

Triangular series schedule: Feb 14: Oman vs Pakistan, Feb 15: Japan vs Pakistan, Feb 16: Oman vs Japan, Feb 17: Pakistan vs Oman, Feb 18: Pakistan vs Japan, Feb 19: Japan vs Oman, Feb 20: Final.

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