China to host women’s hockey 2018 Champions Trophy

Dubai, Nov 11 (IANS) China will host the women's 2018 Champions Trophy, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed on Friday.

The announcement was made during the Hockey Revolution-Part 2 conference, which took place here.

The event, scheduled to take place from November 17, 2018, will be played in the Wujin Hockey Stadium in Changzhou in China. The meet will be the last time the tournament is being held.

The tournament, which will be a six-team invitational event will see hockey World Cup winners, World League champions and Olympic gold medallists vying for the top honours.

"We are delighted to take our sport back to China, a nation that has so much potential in terms of sporting development and commercial opportunities," FIH CEO Kelly Fairweather said in a statement.

"China put together an incredibly exciting bid which aligned with many of the initiatives outlined in our 10-year Hockey Revolution strategy. We look forward to working with them over the next two years to deliver what will be a truly memorable Hockey Champions Trophy in 2018," he added.

Commenting on the development, FIH President Leandro Negre said: "China will always have a special place in hockey's heart, with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games providing an incredible platform for our sport."

"China is a nation renowned for staging world class sports events and with millions of passionate sports fans across the nation I'm sure the 2018 Hockey Champions Trophy in Changzhou will be a fitting farewell for this prestigious event," he added.

Chinese Hockey Association president Lei Jun said: "We are honoured to host this flagship international hockey event in China. Since the Beijing Olympics the sport has been developing fast across our nation."