By Daniel Etchells

Argentina are set to host the Hockey World League Semi-Final men's event at the Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento Deportivo ©Getty ImagesThe Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento Deportivo (CeNARD) in Buenos Aires has been chosen to host this year's Hockey World League semi-final men's event, where 10 teams will battle it out for places in the final, as well as qualification for Rio 2016.

It is the first time in its history that the CeNARD will host such a prestigious hockey event, scheduled to take place from June 3 to 14, with the top four teams advancing to December's final in Mohali, India.

The three highest-ranked teams within that quartet will earn a berth at next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. 

The nations already confirmed to compete alongside hosts Argentina are Spain, Germany, South Korea, The Netherlands and New Zealand, while the remaining four are due to be decided on completion of the ongoing Hockey World League Round Two.

"Having this type of hockey in Buenos Aires is amazing because people can see the dynamics of the live game, which is very different from how it looks on television," said Mariano Ronconi, a member of the Argentinean coaching staff.

A new hockey turf will be installed in preparation for the event, which will have similar characteristics to that used at the 2014 Hockey World Cup in The Hague, The Netherlands, it is claimed. 

A similar turf to that used at the 2014 Hockey World Cup in The Netherlands is set to be installed at the Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento Deportivo ©Getty ImagesA similar turf to that used at the 2014 Hockey World Cup in The Netherlands is set to be installed at the Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento Deportivo ©Getty Images





Round Two is made up of three tournaments in Singapore, San Diego and Cape Town with the latter scheduled to finish next Sunday (March 15).

The top three nations in Singapore were Malaysia, Poland and Japan, who consequently still have their Olympic dream intact, while the competition in San Diego came to an end on Sunday (March 8) when Ireland beat Austria 2-1 in the final. 

The women's equivalent semi-final also consists of 10 teams and is due to be held in Valencia, Spain, from June 10 to 21.

Meanwhile, Brasschaat in Belgium has been lined up to host a joint men's and women's event from June 20 to July 5. 

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