NEW DELHI: Pakistan will travel to India next month for the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy, with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann confirming on Monday in Mohali that the team will participate in the six-nation tournament under the Centre’s policy allowing India and Pakistan to compete in multinational events.The tournament will be held from October 27 to November 5 and will be played across Jalandhar and Mohali in Punjab. Along with India and Pakistan, China, Japan, Malaysia and Korea will take part. Oman and Bangladesh have been named as reserve teams in case any team withdraws.India will enter the tournament as the defending champion after winning the title in Chennai in 2023 and Hulunbuir, China, in 2024.When asked about Pakistan’s participation and whether the required clearances had been obtained, Mann said bilateral cricket or hockey series may not be possible, but multinational tournaments are treated differently.“There is no problem in multi-national tournaments. May be individual series (India and Pakistan) cannot take place,” Mann said.The Centre’s sports policy bars bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan following the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, after which India carried out Operation Sindoor. However, in line with the Olympic Charter, the sports ministry has maintained that athletes from Pakistan can compete in India in multinational events, PTI reported.Despite that policy, Pakistan withdrew from the Junior Hockey World Cup in Tamil Nadu last year, citing tensions between the two countries after Operation Sindoor.Mann said all league-stage matches of the Asian Champions Trophy will be played in Jalandhar, while Mohali will host the semifinals and the final. He added that Punjab is committed to ensuring the successful organisation of the tournament, which will be the first Asian Champions Trophy hosted in the state.Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh said the relationship between the hockey federations of India and Pakistan remains strong despite the political tensions between the two countries.“I want to say this on record that we share very good relations between the hockey federations of India and Pakistan.“You must have noticed that whenever I go, if the Indian team defeats Pakistan, I meet the Pakistani team first. The boys (players) there also show immense respect,” Singh said.The Asian Champions Trophy will begin on October 27 in Jalandhar, with the final scheduled for November 5 in Mohali.
