Japan Touch Down in Mohali: First Team In for the Asian Champions Trophy
Japan beat everyone to Punjab.
The 18-man Samurai squad touched down at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Mohali on Friday morning, four days out from the Asian Champions Trophy, and got the full Punjabi treatment: bhangra drummers, garlands, the works. First team in, first to get a look at the place. Not a bad way to start a tournament.
There’s a lovely quirk in the timing. While the seniors were landing in Mohali, Japan’s juniors were hours away from the biggest game of their year: a Johor Cup decider against Pakistan at 2:05pm PKT this afternoon, where only a win takes them to the final. Two Japan sides, two tournaments, one Friday. That’s the depth of a proper hockey nation.
What’s waiting in Punjab
This is the first time the Champions Trophy has come to Punjab, and the state is making a song and dance about it. The league stage runs 27 October to 2 November at the Olympian Surjit Singh Stadium in Jalandhar, then everything moves to the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior Stadium in Mohali for the semi-finals on 4 November and the medal matches on 5 November. Entry is free for the whole thing, which should make Jalandhar absolutely bouncing.
Six teams, and India’s the story everyone else is circling. The hosts open against Bangladesh on 27 October, then China on the 29th, Japan on the 30th, Malaysia on 1 November and South Korea on the 2nd. India have won this thing five times, more than anyone, and only Korea have ever lifted it besides them. The target is obvious: title number six, at home, in front of free-entry crowds.
Japan, captained by Raiki Fujishima, arrive with four full days to settle before the opener. They’ve earned their seat at this table the hard way, and nobody who watched them at the Johor Cup will be calling them a warm-up act.
Our take
Japan landing first is a small thing, but it says something. They’ve sent their squad early, settled, with four days to acclimatise before a ball is hit. The teams that take this tournament seriously win it. India are favourites at home, obviously — five titles don’t lie — but Korea and Malaysia both know how to ruin a party, and Japan arriving like they mean business is exactly the tone they want. Four days to go, and Punjab already feels like a hockey state again.
The ACT build-up: Japan’s squad, Malaysia’s squad, the stadium upgrades, free entry for all 20 matches, and today’s Johor Cup decider.
