Pakistan pulled out of the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026, which will be held in PunjabScroll down to read the full story.
Published: October 10, 2026, 6:55 PM IST
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Pakistan pulls out of Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026
Pakistan has withdrawn from the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026, which will be held in PunjabBangladesh will take Pakistan’s place in the tournament.
The competition will take place from October 27 to November 5 in Jalandhar and MohaliAccording to ANI, Bangladesh was one of the two reserve teams selected by Hockey India when the tournament dates were announcedOman was the other reserve team.
The tournament will feature six teams: India, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China and BangladeshIndia will begin its campaign against Bangladesh in Jalandhar on October 27 at 7 PM, following the opening ceremony.
India will now play Malaysia on November 1 instead of PakistanThe match was earlier scheduled to be played against PakistanAccording to PTI, the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026 will start in Jalandhar on October 27, and the final will take place in Mohali on November 5.
On September 14, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that Pakistan would take part in the tournamentHe said this was allowed under the Centre’s policy, which permits Pakistan to play in multi-team sporting events held in IndiaHockey India also named Pakistan as one of the participating teams, while Bangladesh and Oman were kept as reserve teams.
However, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Mohyuddin Ahmed Wani said the team could travel to India only after getting permission from its government, ANI reportedOn September 16, a senior PHF official told PTI that the government had not yet approved the team’s visit.
On the same day, the PHF asked the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) to move the tournament to another country or hold Pakistan’s matches at a neutral venueAccording to PTI, the request was made because of the tense relations between India and Pakistan.
Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh, who is also a vice-president of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF), turned down Pakistan’s requestHe told PTI that the tournament would take place at the planned venues and Pakistan would have to travel to India if it wanted to participate.
Pakistan also pulled out of the FIH Junior World Cup in Tamil Nadu last year and the Asia Cup, citing security concerns.
India are the defending champions of the Hockey Asian Champions TrophyThey won the 2024 title after defeating China in the finalThis will be the first major hockey tournament hosted by Punjab.
