Rajgir all set to host men’s Asia Cup next year after Women’s Asian Champions Trophy success

The Asia Cup is an eight-team event with the winner getting a ticket to the 2026 World Cup in Belgium and Netherlands.

Indian players acknowledge fans after winning the Women‘s Asian Champions Trophy 2024 at Rajgir. | Photo Credit: PTI

Even before the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy could be officially concluded, Bihar sports officials were busy planning for a much bigger event in less than a year’s time.

Buoyed by the organisational success of the first-ever international sporting event in the State, the Rajgir Sports Complex will be hosting the men’s Asia Cup next year. Scheduled from August 27-September 7, the event will also be a qualifying event for the 2026 World Cup and therefore a much bigger and prestigious event.

“Now that we have hosted a women’s six-nation event, we are better prepared for a bigger challenge and want to push ourselves with a men’s event. The Asia Cup, being a qualifying event for the World Cup, is also very prestigious and we are confident of drawing even more people than we did this time around,” Bihar State Sports Authority Director-General and CEO Raveendran Sankaran confirmed to Sportstar.

The officials are also aware of the upgrades they will need to make for the bigger event. “We have a couple of concerns and are aware of them but also confident of addressing them well in time. One of them is a mandatory second turf, for which we have already started work. The other is to make arrangements for bigger crowds. We have seen the support people have given to the women’s team this time and we are aware the men will draw even more crowds. We are planning on adding temporary stands, like they do abroad, that can be installed and dismantled quickly,” Raveendran explained.

“Also, the teams will all be accommodated in Rajgir only. Our hostels will all be ready for the players and officials by then and there will be more hotels also, many under construction, for people coming in from outside. So it will not be a problem,” he added.

The Asia Cup is an eight-team event with the winner getting a ticket to the 2026 World Cup in Belgium and Netherlands. Apart from India, it is likely to have Japan, Korea, Malaysia, China and arch-rival Pakistan, besides a couple of qualifiers from the AHF Cup. The presence of Pakistan will clearly add to both excitement and security concerns but officials insist they are well prepared.