Asian Games to be hockey qualifying event for Paris Olympics 2024

The qualification process for the Games will be intense as India will.

The upcoming 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou will be a hockey qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. “There is no problem regarding Asian Games serving as a qualifier of the 2024 Paris Olympics,” International Hockey Federation (FIH) President Ikram Tayyab confirmed on Sunday.

Asian Games in Hangzhou were postponed last year due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in China. The country was not in a position to host the multi-sport grand event. There were doubts about whether the hosting rights will remain with the country. The postponement came as a huge setback for the Asian nation that has previously hosted the Asian Games twice.

However, the 2022 Asian Games are set to go forward and take place from 23 September 2023 to 8 October 2023. “Of course, there was a time we were thinking of having another tournament as Olympic qualifiers in case China is not able to host the Asian Games," Tayyab said. Thankfully, there won’t be a need to hold a separate tournament to act as hockey qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympics games. 

Countries like India, Japan and more will aim to win gold and a direct qualification for the Olympic games at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.

Qualification for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

As per the process, a total of 12 national teams, in both men’s and women’s categories, will participate in the hockey tournament at the Paris Olympics in 2024. France will get a direct qualification as the hosts. Furthermore, five continental champions from Asia, Africa, Europe, Pan America and Oceania will also secure direct qualification.

For the remaining six places, the FIH will conduct two Olympic qualification tournaments that will consist of eight teams each (16 teams in total). The qualification tournament is set to take place in early 2024. The number of participants from each continent will be determined by continental quotas that will be based on the FIH World Rankings on January 2023. 

“This March, we (Asian Games Coordination Committee) are going to have a meeting in Hangzhou in China. The venue was almost ready at the beginning of last year,” Tayyab further said. It is worth noting that Ikram Tayyab is part of the Hangzhou Asian Games Coordination Committee.