India turn focus to Asian Champions Trophy after Asian Games triumph

Mohali: Fresh from retaining its men's Asian Games hockey title and securing a direct berth for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, India will now turn its attention to the Asian Champions Trophy, to be held in Jalandhar and Mohali from October 27 to November 5.

The six-team tournament will feature India alongside Japan, China, Malaysia, South Korea and Bangladesh.

India recently defeated Malaysia in the Asian Games final in Aichi-Nagoya to successfully defend the gold medal they won in Hangzhou in 2023. It was the first time India had retained the Asian Games hockey title.


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Head coach Craig Fulton, however, believes the Asian Games triumph is now behind the team and the focus must shift to the next challenge, with India keen to carry the same intensity into the home tournament.

"Winning the Asian Games gold in Japan was a special achievement for this group. But now the celebrations are behind us and our focus has to shift quickly. The Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026 is a new challenge, on home soil, and we need to bring the same hunger, discipline and intensity to every match as we look to build on our success," said Fulton.

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The tournament will also mark the return of international hockey to Punjab, one of the traditional powerhouses of Indian hockey and a state that has nurtured generations of Olympians and produced some of the country's finest players.

The league-stage matches will be played at Jalandhar's Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium, while the tournament's business end will shift to Mohali. The semi-finals and final will be played at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium on November 4 and 5.

India are the most successful team in Asian Champions Trophy history, having won the title four times since the tournament's inception in 2011. They also shared the trophy with Pakistan in 2018 after the final in Muscat, Oman, was washed out by rain.