NEW DELHI: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has confirmed that the Pakistan hockey team will participate in the upcoming Men’s Asian Champions Trophy in India.
The tournament will be held from October 27 to November 5, with India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea competing in the six-team event.
Mann said India’s current policy allows Pakistan to participate in multinational sporting events, although bilateral contests between the two countries remain restricted.
“There is no problem in multinational tournaments. Maybe individual series between India and Pakistan cannot take place,” Mann said when asked whether the necessary clearances had been obtained for Pakistan’s participation.
Tournament to be held in Jalandhar and Mohali
The Asian Champions Trophy will be staged across Jalandhar and Mohali.
The league-stage matches will take place in Jalandhar. The semi-finals and final will then move to Mohali.
Oman and Bangladesh have been named as reserve teams in case any of the six participating sides withdraws.
India will enter the tournament as defending champions. The team won the 2023 edition in Chennai and retained the title in 2024 in Hulunbuir, China.
India maintains restrictions on bilateral contests
India currently does not allow bilateral sporting engagements with Pakistan amid ongoing tensions between the two countries.
However, the Sports Ministry has maintained that India and Pakistan can compete in multilateral competitions under the Olympic Charter.
Pakistan’s participation in the Asian Champions Trophy therefore comes under the multilateral competition framework.
India-Pakistan hockey relations remain positive
Mann also assured the organisers of his government’s full support for the tournament.
Punjab will host the Asian Champions Trophy for the first time.
Hockey India Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh, who attended Monday’s event, said relations between the hockey federations of India and Pakistan remained positive.
“I want to say this on record that we share very good relations between the hockey federations of India and Pakistan,” Singh said.
The participation of Pakistan adds further significance to the tournament, which will bring the two traditional hockey rivals together on Indian soil.
