Pakistan's hockey team is coming to play in India. The Pakistani team has received approval to come to India for the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy to be held in Punjab. A total of 6 teams including India and Pakistan are going to participate in it. The tournament will start on 27th October, which will continue till 5th November.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann confirmed Pakistan's participation on Monday (14 September). He said that as per the policy of the Central Government regarding multi-nation events, the Pakistan team has been given permission to play on Indian soil.
Asian Champions Trophy matches will be held in Jalandhar and Mohali. Apart from India-Pakistan, China, Japan, Malaysia and Korea will participate in it. If any team withdraws from the tournament, its place will be given to Oman or Bangladesh. Asian Hockey Federation organizes this tournament every year but it was not organized last year. India will enter the competition as defending champions, having won titles in 2023 (Chennai) and 2024 (Hulunbuir, China).
When asked about Pakistan's participation and getting the necessary approvals for it, Bhagwant Mann said, 'There is no problem in multi-nation tournaments. It may be possible that bilateral series (between India and Pakistan) may not take place.
According to the sports policy of the Central Government, India will not play bilateral series against Pakistan. India had launched a brief military operation against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack last year. 26 people were killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
The Sports Ministry, however, following the Olympic Charter, has said that the two countries can face each other in multi-nation tournaments and India will not stop Pakistani players from playing in the country to participate in such competitions. Despite this, Pakistan had withdrawn its name from the Junior Hockey World Cup played in Tamil Nadu last year. He cited the reason for this as increasing tension between the two countries after Operation Sindoor.
CM Bhagwant Mann said that the league stage matches of the tournament will be played in Jalandhar, while the semi-finals and final will be played in Mohali Stadium. On this occasion, Hockey India General Secretary Bhola Nath Singh said that there are 'good relations' between the Hockey Federations of India and Pakistan. He said, 'I want to tell everyone that there are very good relations between the Hockey Federations of India and Pakistan. You must have noticed that whenever I go and if the Indian team beats Pakistan, I meet the Pakistani team first. The boys (players) there also respect him a lot.
