Hockey Asian Champions Trophy: Does India still need a tournament it has outgrown?

India’s unchallenged dominance has put the relevance of the Asian Champions Trophy under scrutiny. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Halfway through the men’s Asian Champions Trophy (ACT), the difference between India and the rest of the participating teams has become more evident than ever.

While it was always expected that the host would dominate the proceedings, the huge gap on the turf raises questions about the relevance of the competition, particularly for India, and the way forward for both the ACT and Asian hockey.

When the event was conceptualised and inaugurated way back in 2011, it was meant to be an avenue for Asian teams to compete against and grow with each other. Since then, however, continental hockey has only slipped further down the world stage, as reflected in the world rankings.

Consider this: At the end of 2011, when the ACT was first played, there were three Asian teams in the top-10: Korea (6th), Pakistan (8) and India (10). Malaysia (13), Japan (15) and China (17) weren’t too far behind. A year later, Pakistan broke into the top-five, followed by Korea and India as the highest-ranked Asian sides.

In contrast, the latest rankings have India (8) as the lone Asian team in the top-10, as has been the case for the past few years. Pakistan, Malaysia and Japan follow, while Korea is languishing at 20. India has qualified for all four Olympics since 2011. In London 2012 it was joined by two other Asian sides, Pakistan (by virtue of winning the 2010 Asian Games) and South Korea (via the Dublin qualifier). Since then, India has been the only Asian team to qualify on merit, with Japan at the 2020 edition as host.

India’s victories against Asian teams over the past decade have also become increasingly emphatic. At the recent 2026 Asian Games, the men’s team strolled to the title despite not being anywhere close to its best, a shortcoming that was painfully exposed at the World Cup only three weeks before. At the ongoing ACT here, India thrashed Bangladesh 13-0 and beat China 5-2 without going all out. Clearly, continental standards have not risen as envisaged.

“Well, I see this tournament as possibly a building phase for certain teams. It’s really difficult to place it somewhere where it has meaning when you’ve just played Asian Games against the same people, so it is difficult,” coach Craig Fulton admitted.

It is no one’s contention that the fall of Asian hockey is India’s problem; it isn’t. And, to be fair, the matches between the remaining five teams have been competitive and entertaining, even if they do little to raise the teams’ collective profile on the world stage. But there is no denying that the importance of the tournament and its place in India’s annual calendar need to be re-examined.

“I’m not sure. The bottom line is, depending on what the calendar is, and where it fits in the calendar, it can be used for a building block for a team. No disrespect to the other teams, just where it fits, how it fits,” the coach added.

One way of raising the tournament’s profile and making it more competitive could be to expand it beyond Asia. Making it an Afro-Asian or Asia-Oceania competition, with 8-10 teams instead of the present six, would not only bring in better teams but also provide a much-needed impetus to Hockey India’s plans of diversifying the hosting of international hockey across the country.

Teams like South Africa and New Zealand have often rued the lack of competition because of distance and limited resources. New Zealand was even forced to withdraw from the Pro League. Such an expansion would also make the matches more attractive to spectators.

“The challenge there is because a lot of those teams, a lot of their players play overseas. So, when do you do it? And then when you do it, when their players are back, it’s Pro League. Or it’s the major tournament. So, there’s a calendar kind of issue. At the end of the day, I’m glad we’ve got hockey. We just have to make use of it in a good way that it builds depth and it builds the next generation of players,” Fulton said.

There is no denying, however, that the tournament as a whole, its place in the calendar and Asian hockey itself need a revamp. Hockey India secretary general Bholanath Singh, also the AHF vice-president, did not respond to queries despite repeated attempts.