Delhi to host men's hockey Champions Trophy

Chennai: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Friday announced that New Delhi will host two major international hockey tournaments in the next 12 months. The Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the Indian capital will be the venue for the men's Champions Trophy from December 3 to 11 this year followed by the Olympic qualifying tournament from February 15 to 26 next year.

The first of the Olympic qualification tournaments in New Delhi will have six men's and six women's teams battling for a spot in the London 2012 Olympic Games, the FIH said.

The Olympic qualification tournaments will have three host nations with men's and women's tournaments running at the same time.

The 2011 calendar year will conclude with two major men's events - the FIH Champions Challenge 1 in Johannesburg, South Africa, from November 26 to December 4, followed by the Champions Trophy in India.

A busy 2012 begins with the women springing back into to action from January 28 to February 5 for the FIH Women's Champions Trophy in Argentina.

"The 2012 season will be one of the busiest and most important in recent history," said FIH president Leandro Negre.

"Our regular schedule will be supplemented with the Olympic qualifiers and of course the Olympic Games themselves, making it non-stop hockey during the year."

The second Olympic qualification tournament will take place from March 14-25, 2012, in Beerschot, Belgium, followed by the third tournament in Kakamigahara, Japan, from April 25-May 6, 2012.

The trio of joint tournaments is the final opportunity for teams to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games with the winner of each men's and women's event earning a place in London.

The teams assigned to the qualification tournaments will not be known until the completion of all of this year's continental championships, which will be after the Pan American Games, scheduled to finish on October 29.

Winners of the five Continental Championships earn an automatic berth to the 2012 London Olympics.

Following the Continental Championships, teams that do not automatically earn a berth to the Olympics will be placed into one of the three qualification tournaments, depending on where they finish in their Continental Championships and how many places their Continental Federation has been allocated for the Olympic Qualification Tournaments.