LAUSANNE – The FIH today announced the schedule for the
2012 Argentina Hockey Men’s Champions Challenge 1, hosted in Quilmes,
Argentina from November 24-December 2.
The tournament will be the first major FIH event after the 2012
London Games and kicks off the next cycle as teams turn their attention
from the Olympics to the 2014 World Cup. Three of the eight teams in the competitive field were in London for the Games. Of the trio, Korea was the highest finisher in London, coming in at eighth place. Argentina and South Africa closed the games in 10th and 11th place, respectively.
The eight-team field will be split into two preliminary
round groups of four teams each.
In Group A is highest-ranked Korea,
which holds down the seventh spot in the FIH World Ranking. They are
joined by Malaysia, Canada and Poland. Group B will feature host
Argentina as the top-seeded team, ranked 10th in the FIH World Ranking.
Challenging Argentina in the group will be South Africa, Ireland and
Japan.
All eight teams will move onto a quarterfinal game with the first
place finishers taking on the last place finishers from the other groups
and the second and third place teams playing in a similar cross-over.
From there, the winners will move onto the semi-finals and medal games,
while the losers will play for placement.
All eyes are sure to be on the Argentina vs. South
Africa preliminary round game on the second day of action. The teams met
in the bronze medal game of the 2011 edition of the Champions Challenge
1, which South Africa won, 3-1.
Argentina exacted revenge for that loss
in London, beating the South Africans 6-3 in the preliminary round.
The Argentina Hockey Men’s Champion’s Challenge 1 will give the teams
World Ranking points and the winner of the tournament will be
automatically qualified for the next edition of the men’s Champions
Trophy.
