India To Begin Asian Champions Trophy Title Defence Against Malaysia

In pursuit of a third consecutive Asian Champions Trophy title, the Indian women's hockey team will begin its campaign against Malaysia when the six-nation tournament gets underway in Bhopal on November 19. The tournament will be held at Bhopal's new hockey stadium at the International Sports Complex, Nathu Barkheda, and will feature India, Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea. It will be the Indian women's team's first international assignment since their historic gold-medal triumph at the Asian Games in Japan last month. The hosts enter the competition as three-time champions, having won the title in 2016, 2023 and 2024.

The tournament will follow a round-robin format, with each team facing the other five sides once. The top four teams at the end of the league stage will progress to the semi-finals.

The opening day on November 19 will begin with Asia's top-ranked side China taking on Thailand.

India will start their title defence against Malaysia in a match scheduled after the opening ceremony later that day.

The hosts will then face South Korea on November 21, Thailand on November 22, China on November 24 and Japan on November 25.

November 20, 23 and 26 have been designated as rest days, Hockey India said in a release.

The classification match for fifth and sixth place, along with the two semi-finals, will be played on November 27.

The tournament will conclude on November 28 with the bronze-medal match followed by the final.

"The Madhya Pradesh Women's Asian Champions Trophy Bhopal 2026 will be a great opportunity to celebrate the growing strength of women's hockey in Asia," said Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey.

"I am delighted that Bhopal will host six competitive teams, and I look forward to seeing our Indian team build on its recent Asian Games success and defend its title."

Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh added: "Coming on the back of India's historic Asian Games gold medal, this tournament will be an important opportunity for our players to carry forward that momentum."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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