Mohali: After a gap in 2025, the Hero Men’s Asian Champions Trophy is making a comeback this year. The 2026 edition will be held from October 27 to November 5 in Mohali, Punjab. This was announced by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Monday.
The tournament will be jointly hosted by Mohali and Jalandhar. The much-awaited matches will be held at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium, Mohali, and the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium, Jalandhar.
All the league-stage matches will be hosted in Jalandhar between October 27 and November 2, besides the opening match. The semi-finals and the final will be held on November 4 and November 5 in Mohali respectively.
“The historic Hero Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2026 is not merely a hockey tournament for Punjab; it is an emotional homecoming of the sport to the land that has nurtured generations of Indian hockey heroes,” said Bhagwant Mann, as per a Hockey India statement.
“For the first time, Punjab is hosting an international hockey tournament of this stature on its own soil. The Punjab Government is determined to make it an unforgettable sporting spectacle for players, spectators and hockey lovers across India and the world,” the CM added.
The tournament will feature Asia’s top hockey teams, with India, Pakistan, South Korea, Malaysia, China and Japan. Oman and Bangladesh are the reserve teams.
The Hero Men’s Asian Champions Trophy is one of the premier events on the Asian Hockey Federation calendar.
“Punjab has a proud hockey legacy, and we are delighted that Mohali and Jalandhar will host the Hero Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2026. We sincerely thank and appreciate the Punjab Government’s support,” said Dilip Tirkey, president, Hockey India.
The annual championship had started in 2011. It is held in the round robin format. India has been the most successful team in the tournament’s history. India is also the defending champion. It had won the 2024 edition against China and has claimed five trophies so far. The next most frequent champion, Pakistan, has won thrice.
In 2018, both India and Pakistan were declared as joint winners as the final match was abandoned due to heavy rain.