NEW DELHI, Dec 22: India will have their last shot at the Olympic hockey berth when they take on Japan, Malaysia and Bangladesh in the qualifiers for Beijing starting on February 2, 2008.
After the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced six hosts of Olympic Qualifiers at its Congress last month, the dates for these six tournaments were confirmed on Friday.
Starting from February 2, 2008, the qualifiers will be played till May 4 and the last three Olympic tickets in each gender awarded to the winners of the respective Olympic qualifiers.
The qualifiers will be the last chance for India if they do not qualify directly through the continental championships. The first nine spots in each gender will be filled from December 2006 until September 2007 during several continental championships.
China, Korea and Pakistan have already qualified for the men's hockey competition at the 2008 Olympics, while China and Japan’s women hockey teams have also confirmed their participation in the Beijing’s mega sporting fair.
For the men and women's Olympic qualifying tournaments, the best 18 nations, not to have qualified, will compete in three tournaments of six teams for the last three spots.
Schedule for the Olympic qualifiers:
February 2-9: Men's Olympic qualifiers in Auckland, New Zealand.
March 1-9: Men's Olympic qualifiers in Santiago, Chile.
April 5-13: Men's Olympic qualifiers in Kakamigahara, Japan.
April 12-20: Women's Olympic qualifiers in Baku, Azerbaijan.
April 19-27: Women's Olympic qualifiers in Kazan, Russia.
April 26-May 4: Women's Olympic qualifiers in Vancouver, Canada. --Agencies
