Hockey removed from Sri Lanka Asian Games contingent
The National Sports Selection Committee of Sri Lanka (NSSC) has decided to remove the participation of the national hockey team from the 2023 Asian Games.
Asian Games scheduled for 2022 were postponed to 2023 due to the Corona virus epidemic.
Accordingly, the Asian
Games are scheduled to be held from September 23 to October 8, 2023.
Taking into consideration the current economic situation in the country and the Asian and World Ranking of the two Sri Lanka men and women hockey teams, the NSSC has taken steps to remove these two teams from the Asian Games.
The ranking according to AHF (Asian Hockey Federation) is men (9) and women (15) while in the FIH (International Hockey Federation) rankings is 34 (men) and 73 (women).
Accordingly, the NSSC has officially informed the Sri Lanka Hockey Federation (SLHF) that Sri Lanka cannot hope for a medal.
Meanwhile, SLHF has already formed two national squads of 42 members each for men and women who have started training for the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Both the Sri Lanka men’s and women’s hockey teams qualified for the Hangzhou Asian Games on their performance in the AHF 2019 tournament.