Asian Hockey Champions Trophy Reaches Nalanda Ahead Of Tournament

The Asian Hockey Champions Trophy (Women) reached the world heritage site of Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar on Monday amid much fanfare.

Hundreds of sports enthusiasts and schoolchildren gave a boisterous welcome to the trophy.

The tournament, which is being jointly organised by Hockey India and the Bihar government, will be held at the newly-developed Rajgir Hockey Stadium between November 11 and 20.

Besides India, the other participating countries are China, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.

The trophy will be taken to various places in the district for public display to encourage youth, especially women, and also for popularising the event, officials said.

"The trophy was earlier taken to Punjab , Haryana , Odisha and Jharkhand . After that, it was taken to almost all districts in Bihar, and it will reach Rajgir on November 10. It's a prestigious event for Bihar. It's a mega festival for the people of Bihar," Bihar State Sports Authority Director-General Ravindran Shankaran said.

"Our stadium at Rajgir, where the matches will be played, is fully prepared as per the guidelines of the International Hockey Federation. We can even host the 2026 Hockey World Cup in Rajgir," he added.

The trophy was received at the world heritage site by DM Shashank Shubhankar, SP Bharat Soni, and other senior officers of Nalanda district along with Shankaran.

The Nalanda Mahavihara, located about 95 km southeast of Patna, comprises the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. Nalanda is the most ancient university of the subcontinent, according to UNESCO.

"It's a matter of great happiness that the Women's Asian Champions Trophy, 2024 is being organised at Rajgir. All arrangements have been made to provide the best possible facilities for the players, tourists and people coming from outside for the event," the DM said.

He said translators have been engaged for fans and players coming from China, Japan and South Korea so that they don't have to face any difficulties while interacting with locals.

The SP said comprehensive security arrangements have been made for the event.

"A foolproof security plan has been chalked out for each team. The teams are supposed to arrive here from November 7. Additional forces and escort vehicles will be deployed for the security of the players right from the hotels, where they will be staying, to the stadium. Also, CCTV cameras have been installed at all strategic locations in the city," he said.