Oman begins campaign at Asian Hockey Federation Cup

Muscat: The national hockey team of the Sultanate of Oman begins its campaign in the Asian Hockey Federation Cup in Jakarta today.

Oman News Agency (ONA) said: "Today, the national hockey team will begin its campaign in the Asian Hockey Federation Cup being hosted by Jakarta, Indonesia, from March 11-20. Our national team is ranked 26th internationally."

Nine teams are participating in the tournament after the withdrawal of the Chinese team, and the Oman team is placed in the second group, which includes Bangladesh, Iran, Singapore and Indonesia. The first group includes Thailand, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Oman’s team was first to arrive in Jakarta where it participated in a training camp before the tournament, which included a number of friendly matches with Indonesia in which they emerged victorious. Even against the Thai team, Omani team won 2-0 but against the Kazakh team the match ended in a 3-3 draw.

The Sultanate’s national team is one of the favourites to win the championship title, as it is the best ranked at the international level. The first three teams will qualify for the Asian Cup, which is expected to be held next May.

The Iranian team had won its first match of the tournament against Singapore 2-1 on Friday and the Kazakh team defeated the Thai team by six goals.