HÀ NỘI — The 11th Việt Nam Hockey Festival is scheduled to take place at the Việt Nam Hockey Centre in Bến Lức Town, Long An Province on November 10-11.

A total of 21 teams from five countries and territories namely Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei and Việt Nam will participate in the event.

The hockey tournament, also known as the Việt Nam Hockey Sixes, has four categories including men (open), men (veterans), women (open) and mixed (open).

This is an outdoor six-a-side event played on artificial turf pitches, using modified indoor hockey rules.

“This is the only international hockey tournament organised in Việt Nam. Through the annual Việt Nam Hockey Sixes, we hope to continue to generate interest in field hockey here to persuade more Vietnamese to take up the sport to increase this number of players by showcasing hockey as a fun and enjoyable sport,” said James Chew, chairman of the organising board.

“From the competition aspect, the hockey teams in Việt Nam have benefited tremendously by competing against the more advanced hockey playing nations like Australia and Malaysia. Since the tournament started, Việt Nam squads have won the competition twice for men and once for women.”

All spectators are welcome. There is no gate entrance fee to watch the matches.

The Việt Nam Hockey Sixes is endorsed by the Asian Hockey Federation, HCM City Sports Centre and Việt Nam National Olympic Council.

Vietnam participated in their first ever Hockey World League in April 2016 in Singapore, Southeast Asian (SEA) Games (Yangon) 2013 and SEA Games (Kuala Lumpur) 2017. — VNS