Singapore's men opened their campaign in the first round of the Hockey World League yesterday with a 6-0 thrashing of Kazakhstan.

This is the third edition of the competition, which comprises four rounds and is played over two years. Through the league, countries can qualify for the Olympics and the Hockey World Cup alongside the continental champions and hosts of the respective tournaments.

Ten countries, including Singapore, are participating in Round 1, which started yesterday and runs till next Sunday at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium. The others are Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Prague, Douai in France and Salamanca in Mexico will stage other Rounds 1s later this year.

Singapore's women were also in action last night, defeating Sri Lanka 6-1.

The men next face Sri Lanka on Tuesday while the women's team play Hong Kong tomorrow at 8pm.