Pakistan has withdrawn from the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026, which will be held in Punjab. Bangladesh will take Pakistan’s place in the tournament.
The competition will take place from October 27 to November 5 in Jalandhar and Mohali. According to ANI, Bangladesh was one of the two reserve teams selected by Hockey India when the tournament dates were announced. Oman was the other reserve team.
The tournament will feature six teams: India, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China and Bangladesh. India 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 Pakistan. The match was earlier scheduled to be played against Pakistan. According 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 tournament. He said this was allowed under the Centre’s policy, which permits Pakistan to play in multi-team sporting events held in India. Hockey 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 reported. On 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 venue. According 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 request. He 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 Trophy. They won the 2024 title after defeating China in the final. This will be the first major hockey tournament hosted by Punjab.