3 min readChandigarhMay 24, 2026 09:52 PM ISTIndian hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and some of his mates will play in their home state in an international event for the first time. (Soorma HC)As the Punjab government gets set to host the Asian Champions Trophy later this year, it will be the first occasion for Indian hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and some of his mates to play in their home state in an international event.After the World Cup in August and Asian Games in September, India will feature in the Asian Champions Trophy along with an expected line-up including arch-rival Pakistan, Japan, China, Thailand and Korea.“It will be the first time that I, as well as other members of the Indian hockey team, will be playing in Punjab. To see our home crowd as well as hockey fans from Punjab cheering for us will be a surreal feeling for all of us. It will be exciting to play in the Asian Champions Trophy and we will aim to win the title in front of hockey lovers from Punjab. The moment will come after many years of waiting and we, like any other hockey player, are looking towards seeing the Indian flag rise high with the title,” shared double Olympic medallist Harmanpreet while speaking with The Indian Express.Punjab last hosted an international hockey competition in 2009 in the form of the Punjab Gold Cup. With ten players from Punjab in the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal winning Indian hockey team and nine from the Paris Olympics team, it has been a long wait for the players like Harmnapreet Singh, vice-captain Hardik Singh and others to play in India colours in Punjab.The Indian team will be competing in the world cup in Netherlands in August followed by Asian Games in Japan and will then be playing in the Asian Champions Trophy in the last week of October and first week of November later this year. Harmanpreet, who hails from Timmoval near Amritsar, spoke about the upcoming challenge of three major events.“World Cup is the biggest competition of this year as well as the Asian Games for us. The team has been preparing for the upcoming Pro League camp in Bengaluru and we will be aiming to give our best in these tournaments. To see the Punjab government supporting us will also motivate us further and each one of us hope to keep the Indian flag high at the international level in each of the tournaments,” the Indian captain, who was conferred with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award on Sunday, said.Meanwhile, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann shared that the organising committee is planning to hold the much anticipated India-Pakistan match in the Asian Champions Trophy on November 1, Punjab Day.Story continues below this ad“Earlier only states like Orissa, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu hosted international events. Now once again Punjab will play host to Asian Champions Trophy, a FIH event. I am glad that Indian hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh as well as other international players from Punjab will get to play in front of their home crowd. Punjab will leave no stone unturned to organise one event of such class. We also plan to set the India-Pakistan match to be played on Punjab Day, November 1,” Mann added.Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a three-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively. His latest Laadli Award, in November 2025, came for an article on Deepthi Jeevanji, who won India’s first gold medal at the World Athletics Para Championship and was taunted for her unusual features as a child. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:chandigarhAdvertisementLoading Recommendations...Advertisement