Hockey: India meet Bangladesh first at Asiad

India meet Bangladesh in their opening match of the men's hockey tournament at the 15th Asian Games in Doha, on December 4.

Drawn in Group B, the former champions take on China in their next league match on December 5 and play Oman on December 8.

They bump into the defending champions South Korea in their last preliminary round match on December 10.

India were champions in 1966 and 1998 and runners-up in the last edition in Busan.

Group A comprises Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong.

Pakistan are seven-time winners but returned without a medal for the first time since the sport was included in the Games in 1958, when they were beaten for the bronze medal by Malaysia in the last edition at Busan.

The women's matches begin on December 2 and the final is on December 13.

The men's final is slated for December 14.

Both the men's and women's matches will be played on the poligras surface at the Al Rayyan Sports Complex at Doha.

According to the new International Hockey Federation (FIH) rules, the first two teams will be automatic continental qualifiers for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Earlier, only the champions qualified.

Men's schedule:

Dec 4  - China v Oman, India v Bangladesh, Hong Kong v Chinese Taipei, Pakistan v Malaysia;

Dec 5  - South Korea v Bangladesh, India v China;

Dec 6  - Japan v Malaysia, Pakistan v Hong Kong China;

Dec 7  - China v Bangladesh, Oman v South Korea, Malaysia v Hong Kong, Japan v Chinese Taipei;

Dec 8  - China v South Korea, India v Oman;

Dec 9  - Japan v Hong Kong, Pakistan v Chinese Taipei;

Dec 10 - Bangladesh v Oman, India v South Korea, Malaysia v Chinese Taipei, Pakistan v Japan;

Dec 12 - Classification Matches; semi-finals

Dec 14 - Classification Matches: 7/8th, 5/6th, 3/4th places, Final.