Punjab hosted the Asian hockey championship for the first time on October 27, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann inaugurating the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026 at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar. Mann said the tournament fulfilled a long-standing wish of the state’s hockey players to compete on home ground and expressed confidence that Punjab could host the Hockey World Cup in 2030.
The championship features teams from six countries. Mann welcomed players from Bangladesh, China, Japan, Korea and Malaysia, along with Olympians, former players and representatives of Hockey India and the International Hockey Federation. He also honoured the captains of the participating teams.
All league-stage matches will be held in Jalandhar, while the semi-finals and final are scheduled at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali.
Mann said Punjab’s contribution to Indian hockey extended across generations, citing 77 hockey Olympians from the state between the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics. According to him, 48 players from Punjab have won Olympic medals, while Punjabi players have captained India’s Olympic hockey team on 10 occasions. He also noted that eight members of the current Indian team, led by Harmanpreet Singh, are from Punjab.
The Chief Minister recalled the achievements of hockey players Balbir Singh Senior, Udham Singh, Pritipal Singh, Ajit Pal Singh, Surjit Singh and Pargat Singh. He also highlighted India’s men’s hockey bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and Paris in 2024, as well as the country’s 1975 senior men’s World Cup win and junior World Cup titles in 2001 and 2016.
{{/usCountry}}The Chief Minister recalled the achievements of hockey players Balbir Singh Senior, Udham Singh, Pritipal Singh, Ajit Pal Singh, Surjit Singh and Pargat Singh. He also highlighted India’s men’s hockey bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and Paris in 2024, as well as the country’s 1975 senior men’s World Cup win and junior World Cup titles in 2001 and 2016.
{{/usCountry}}The state government, Mann said, had established six new hockey astro-turf grounds, with two more under construction, and developed 18 six-a-side astro-turf grounds. He said more than 3,000 sports grounds were being developed under the Mukh Mantri Khed Maidan initiative. The Punjab State Institute of Sports has 14 Centres of Excellence, where 1,870 athletes receive specialised training.
Mann cited the state’s 2023 sports policy and an allocation of ₹1,744 crore for sports as part of efforts to strengthen infrastructure and grassroots participation. He said hosting the championship could also benefit sports tourism, hospitality, sports goods manufacturers and local businesses.