Asian Champions Trophy Punjab: India vs Pakistan Set for Nov 1 in Jalandhar
Punjab hosts the Asian Champions Trophy for the first time, Oct 27–Nov 5. India face Pakistan in Jalandhar on Punjab Day, Nov 1 — entry free for all matches.
North Desk Correspondent
Chandigarh, September 14
Asian Champions Trophy: Punjab will host one of the most anticipated fixtures on the Asian sporting calendar this year, with India taking on Pakistan in hockey on November 1 — Punjab Day — at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar, as the state prepares to host the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy for the first time in its history.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann released the tournament logo on Monday in the presence of Asian Hockey Federation officials, confirming that Punjab has been chosen as host for the tournament running October 27 to November 5, with league-stage matches in Jalandhar and the semi-finals and final in Mohali’s Olympian Balbir Singh (Senior) International Hockey Stadium.
According to Mann, six countries will compete in the tournament — India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and China — with Oman and Bangladesh as reserve teams. The India-Pakistan match, scheduled for 7 PM on November 1, is being positioned by the state government as the marquee fixture of the championship, deliberately timed to coincide with Punjab Day.
“India and Pakistan may have their rivalries on the hockey field, but sport has its own language,” Mann said, addressing the media in Chandigarh. “For hockey lovers, the India-Pakistan match is not about hatred. It is about the passion of hockey, the roar of the spectators and the beauty of sport.”
In a move aimed at maximising public participation, the Punjab government announced that entry to all matches across the tournament will be completely free — meaning spectators can watch the India-Pakistan game, along with every other fixture, without buying a ticket. “A young student, an aspiring hockey player or an ordinary sports lover should not be deprived of watching international stars simply because they cannot afford a ticket,” Mann said.
Asian Champions Trophy: The money and the venues
The state government has sanctioned a total budget of ₹25.40 crore for organising the tournament. Of this, ₹22.96 crore is being spent upgrading the two host venues — ₹14 crore on the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar and ₹8.96 crore on the Olympian Balbir Singh (Senior) International Hockey Stadium in Mohali.
Jalandhar will host the opening ceremony and the full league stage, running October 27 to November 2. The tournament then shifts to Mohali, where the semi-finals will be played on November 4, followed by the final and closing ceremony on November 5.
Why Jalandhar and Punjab hockey history matters here
The choice of Jalandhar is not incidental. Mann repeatedly invoked the region’s hockey lineage in his remarks, naming villages — Sansarpur, Khusropur, Mithapur among them — that have produced Olympians and national captains over decades. He credited Punjab with more than 50 Olympic medallists and at least 10 national team captains, citing legends including Balbir Singh Sr., Udham Singh and Ajit Pal Singh.
He also pointed to Punjab’s continuing presence in Indian hockey at the elite level, noting that 10 Punjab players were part of India’s squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics, captained by Harmanpreet Singh.
The larger context: a sports-spending push ahead of 2030
The Asian Champions Trophy announcement is being framed by the Mann government as part of a broader sports investment drive. The Chief Minister cited a ₹1,743 crore sports budget for the current financial year, alongside an ongoing rollout of 3,148 rural sports grounds (750 already inaugurated) and 6,000 modern gymnasiums (500 operational so far).
On athlete support, Mann said Olympic-track players receive ₹15 lakh in preparatory assistance, while those preparing for the Asian and Commonwealth Games get ₹8 lakh. He said more than 40,000 players have received cash awards worth ₹135 crore since 2022, and reiterated the government’s medal-reward structure — ₹3 crore for an Olympic gold, ₹2 crore for silver, ₹1 crore for bronze.
Mann also linked the tournament to a longer-term ambition: India is set to host the Hockey World Cup in 2030, and he said Punjab intends to stake a claim to host matches in that tournament as well, calling a successful Asian Champions Trophy a step toward strengthening that case.
Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh, Director General Cdr RK Srivastava, Executive Board Member RP Singh and Hockey Punjab President Nitin Kohli were present at the announcement.
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