Indian Hockey Team Focuses On Performance As Pakistan Withdraws From Asian Champions Trophy 2026

Indian men's hockey team goalkeeper Suraj Karkera said that while the public will miss the flavour and intensity of a match against arch-rivals Pakistan during the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) Punjab 2026, the Indian team will look to perform to the best of their ability. Notably, Bangladesh have replaced Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy after the latter withdrew from the six-team continental tournament, scheduled to be held from October 27 to November 5, across two venues in Punjab, the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar and the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali. Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Mohyuddin Ahmed Wani had last month said that the team's visit to India for the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy is subject to government clearance and the federation will follow whatever the government asks them to do, according to a September report by Dawn.

India and Pakistan share a fierce rivalry in hockey. However, in their last 20 meetings since 2016, India have won 18 matches, while Pakistan are yet to register a victory. The remaining two matches ended in draws. Their most recent meeting came in the semifinal of the 2026 Asian Games, where India secured a 4-3 win.

Suraj said this while speaking to ANI on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony where the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Dhiraj Seth, interacted with and felicitated Indian Army sportspersons who participated in the 2026 Asian Games.

Suraj said athletes do not want to withdraw from tournaments, but such decisions are beyond their control. He added that fans would miss the India-Pakistan rivalry, while the Indian team would focus on performing to the best of its ability.

"They are a good team, and athletes never want to pull out of a tournament, but these are things beyond our control. We're just there to go and perform to the best of our ability, and I think the result will take care of itself. The India-Pakistan flavour will be missed by the people, but it is something that is way beyond our say," he said.

With Bangladesh replacing Pakistan, the Asian Champions Trophy will feature title holders and reigning Asian Games champions India, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China and Bangladesh. Fresh from successfully defending their Asian Games gold medal in Japan, five-time ACT winners India will enter the tournament as the top-ranked team and will look to continue their strong record in the competition.

Notably, the Indian men's hockey team recently clinched the gold medal in the Asian Games 2026, held in Aichi-Nagoya. They registered a 5-1 win over Malaysia in the Asian Games 2026 hockey final, successfully defending their Asiad title. It was India's fifth men's hockey gold after victories in 1966, 1998, 2014 and 2022, and the first time the Indian men's and women's hockey teams won gold at the same edition.

Karkera, who serves as a Subedar in the Indian Army, said the Chief of Army Staff's commendation and awards were a source of motivation and would inspire the team to perform even better in the future.

"I think it really motivates us. It's an inspiration to receive the Chief of Army Staff's commendation and awards, and it will definitely motivate us to do much better in the future," he said.

With the LA 2028 Olympics in focus, Karkera said the team would work on its mistakes, raise its standards in hockey, and begin training soon, while aiming to defend its title at the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy on home ground.

"We have our targets in mind. We will look at all our mistakes and will make sure we don't commit them, get to a new level and a new standard in the field of hockey. It's home ground for us (in the Asian Champions Trophy); we'll be looking to win it again as the defending champions. We'll also start our camp and training soon," he said.

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

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