Starting from 29 August, Rajgir, India will play host to the men’s Hero Asia Cup Rajgir Bihar 2025 - Asia’s premier hockey men’s tournament running from 29 August to 7 September - with the champions punching their ticket to the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium & Netherlands 2026.
Tournament Format
The tournament will feature 8 teams, split into Pool A & B. The top two from each pool will advance to a Super 4s pool stage, where the teams will compete in a secondary pool and get ranked from one to four. The semi-finals line-up will be decided on the basis of the secondary pool results, while the bottom two teams from the initial pool stage will play for classifications and world ranking points.
Pools
Pool A: China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan
Pool B: Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Malaysia
Match Schedule
The men’s tournament will begin the competition with Pool B action on 29 August, as Malaysia will take on Bangladesh in the first match followed by Korea taking on Chinese Taipei. Pool A matches will follow as all 8 teams will take the field on opening day. Japan vs Kazakhstan will get Pool A underway before the final match of the day will pit hosts India against neighbours China.
The initial pool stage for the men’s competition will be played from 29 August to 1 September, followed by the secondary pool stage, positional playoffs and medal matches being played from 3-7 September.
World Cup Qualification
The winner of the men’s competition will earn a coveted spot at the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026.
Six teams have now qualified for the men’s competition at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026. Belgium and Netherlands, on account of being hosts of the event, gained direct qualification. Australia and Spain qualified through the previous two editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League. Argentina secured qualification through the Pan American Cup and Germany qualified from the Eurohockey Championship. Along with Asia, continental championships in Africa and Oceania will determine three direct qualifiers for the event, with the remaining seven teams qualifying through the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in 2026.
Based on their performance at the Pan American Cup and the EuroHockey Championships, the following men’s teams have qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026: USA, Canada, Chile, France, England, Austria, Poland, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, with five further sides qualifying from Asia and one from the Africa.
