New Delhi: The 2017 Asia Cup is being billed as the start of a new beginning in Indian hockey. The coming together of Sjoerd Marijne and Manpreet Singh coach-captain is expected to answer long-standing questions like India's inability to win major tournaments.
The eight-team tournament in Dhaka will serve as the perfect testing ground for the Indian team under a new coach. India were runner-up to South Korea in the last edition four years ago. This time, the Manpreet Singh-led outfit will hope to do one better than 2013.
This is also India's lone international outing before the year-ending big event, the FIH Hockey World League Final to be held in Bhubaneswar. And India will open their campaign on Wednesday with a tricky tie against Japan.
Here's everything you need to know about the tournament:
Teams
| Pool A | Pool B |
| India (6) | Malaysia (12) |
| Pakistan (14) | South Korea (13) |
| Japan (17) | China (18) |
| Bangladesh (34) | Oman (30) |
Two top teams from each pool will play in the Super 4s, which will be followed by a single-legged round-robin format to decide the two finalists.
Pool A
| Match | Date & Time |
| India vs Japan | 2:30 pm IST, 11 October |
| Pakistan vs Bangladesh | 5 pm IST, 11 October |
| Japan vs Pakistan | 2:30 pm IST, 13 October |
| India vs Bangladesh | 5:30 pm IST, 13 October |
| Japan vs Bangladesh | 2:30 pm IST, 15 October |
| India vs Pakistan | 5:30 pm IST, 15 October |
Pool B
| Match | Date & Time |
| Malaysia vs China | 2:30pm IST, 12 October |
| South Korea vs Oman | 5pm IST, 12 October |
| China vs Oman | 2:30pm IST, 14 October |
| South Korea vs Malaysia | 5pm IST, 14 October |
| Malaysia vs Oman | 2:30pm IST, 16 October |
| China vs South Korea | 5pm IST, 16 October |
Winners of the tournament will qualify for the 2018 World Cup in India.
India Squad
Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, Suraj Karkera
Defenders: Dipsan Tirkey, Kothajit Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar
Midfielders: SK Uthappa, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh (captain), Chinglensana Kangujam, Sumit
Forwards: S.V. Sunil (vice-captain), Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar, Gurjant Singh, Satbir Singh
TV Listings:
India: TV: Star Sports 2/HD; Live streaming: Hotstar
Malaysia: TV: Astro Arena/HD ; Live streaming: Astro Go
Pakistan: TV: PTV; Live streaming: PTV Sports Live
Japan: TV: TV Tokyo
Live Streaming: Hotstar
