Craig Fulton aims to build on Asian Games triumph as India host Men's Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026

India coach Craig Fulton said he wants to build on the team’s Asian Games success as India prepare to host the Men’s Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026 in Jalandhar and Mohali from October 27 to November 5. India won the Asian Games gold at Aichi-Nagoya in 2026, successfully defending their title.

India defeated Malaysia 5-1 in the Asian Games 2026 final, securing consecutive gold medals for the first time in the country’s history at the event. The Asian Champions Trophy will feature six teams: India, Japan, China, Malaysia, South Korea and Bangladesh, and will be played on home soil.

Craig Fulton, the chief coach of the Indian men’s team, said, “Winning the Asian Games gold in Japan was a special achievement for this group. But now the celebrations are behind us, and our focus has to shift quickly. The Asian Champions Trophy 2026 is a new challenge, on home soil, and we need to bring the same hunger, discipline and intensity to every match as we look to build on our success.”

All league-stage matches will be staged at Jalandhar’s Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium, with the tournament’s decisive encounters scheduled for Mohali. The semi-finals and final are listed to be played at Mohali’s Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium on October 4 and 5.

The tournament returns international hockey to Punjab, a region noted in the report for its deep-rooted hockey culture and contribution to the sport, which the organisers say will welcome Asia’s top teams for the event. Hosting duties are split between Jalandhar and Mohali, with pool-stage matches in Jalandhar and knockout rounds in Mohali.

Since the inception of the Asian Champions Trophy in 2011, India have won the title four times and once shared the trophy with Pakistan in 2018 when the final in Muscat, Oman, was washed out by rain. The coverage also records India as five-time winners of the competition, including victories in 2023 and 2024.

With momentum from the Asian Games, India will aim to transfer that winning form into the Men’s Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026 on home turf.