Asian Champions Trophy 2023: When was the last time it was hosted? Find out about the winner and location
Asian Champions Trophy is all set to take place at Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai, starting on Thursday, August 3. The tournament will feature six best Asian teams - India, Pakistan, Japan, China, Malaysia, and South Korea.
India and Pakistan are the most successful teams with three title wins under their belt.
South Korea are the defending champions and will begin this year's Asian Champions Trophy against the last year's runner-up Japan.
The last edition of the Asian Champions Trophy took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was rescheduled multiple times and finally was held in December 2021.
Initially, in August 2020, it was planned to take place in March 2021 but was postponed to October 2021. In September, because of the rise in COVID-19 cases, the tournament got rescheduled again and held from December 14-22 in 2021.
Who won the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy?
The last edition of the Asian Champions Trophy was the first time when neither India nor Pakistan made it to the final. Ever since the beginning of the tournament, Pakistan or India lifted the trophy. However, the last time, both teams lost in the semi-finals against South Korea and Japan, respectively.
After finishing at the top of the league table, India met Japan in the semi-final. Japan finished with a massive 5-3 win over India to make it to the final.
South Korea, on the other hand, met Pakistan in the semi-final. The match was a high-scoring thriller, which ended in favor of South Korea. The eventual champions won the match by 6-5 to enter the final.
South Korea faced Japan in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy and the match was decided through a penalty shootout. Both teams ended with three goals each and South Korea won the tournament 4-2 in the penalty shootout.
India and Pakistan faced in the third and fourth place match, and India emerged victorious with a 4-3 score against their arch-rivals.
All four teams will meet again in the upcoming Asia Champions Trophy. However, the last edition hosts, Bangladesh could not make it to this tournament this year.