India, Oct. 29 -- Punjab hosted the Asian hockey championship for the first time on October 27, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann inaugurating the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026 at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar. Mann said the tournament fulfilled a long-standing wish of the state's hockey players to compete on home ground and expressed confidence that Punjab could host the Hockey World Cup in 2030.

The championship features teams from six countries. Mann welcomed players from Bangladesh, China, Japan, Korea and Malaysia, along with Olympians, former players and representatives of Hockey India and the International Hockey Federation. He also honoured the captains of the participating teams.

All leag...