Free entry for the Asian Champions Trophy — Hockey India opens the gates in Punjab

Free hockey. In Punjab. For a whole Asian Champions Trophy

Hockey India isn’t charging a rupee for this one.

Entry to every match of the men’s Hero Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026 is free, all 20 of them, from the league games in Jalandhar through to the medal matches in Mohali. The announcement came on Tuesday, a week before the tournament starts, and it’s the right call. Punjab doesn’t need persuading to watch hockey, but taking the price off the door means the stands should actually look like Punjab cares, because it does.

How the free entry works

It’s free, but it’s not just walk in. Fans register on ticketgenie.in or through the TicketGenie app, pick the matches they want, and get a digital pass with a QR code that’s scanned at the gate.

The split of venues stays as announced. The Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar hosts the opening ceremony and every league match from Tuesday 27 October to Monday 2 November. Then the tournament moves to the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali for the semi-finals on Wednesday 4 November and the medal matches on Thursday 5 November.

Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said the point was simple: “By making entry free for the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026, we hope to bring more supporters to the stands and give them an opportunity to experience the excitement of top-level international hockey.”

Secretary general Bhola Nath Singh made the same point from the other side, saying hockey has always held a special place in Punjab and the federation wants families and young players in the seats, not watching on a phone.

Who’s playing, and when India play

Six teams: defending champions India, plus Bangladesh, China, Japan, Malaysia and Korea. Bangladesh take the place Pakistan were expected to fill — host-side reporting has had the six-team field settled that way since early October.

India’s league run is a proper test, not a victory lap:

• Tuesday 27 October — India v Bangladesh, Jalandhar (opening day)
• Thursday 29 October — India v China
• Friday 30 October — India v Japan
• Sunday 1 November — India v Malaysia
• Monday 2 November — India v Korea

Win the group games and it’s Mohali on 4 November. Anything less and the home crowd gets nervous fast, because Japan and Malaysia both arrive in form and Korea never make life easy at this tournament.

Our take

Free entry only works if people know, so this announcement landing a full week out matters more than the gesture itself. For our money, Jalandhar will fill up regardless for India’s games. The real test is the neutral fixtures, China v Japan on a weekday afternoon, that kind of slot. If those draw a crowd too, Hockey India will have pulled off something most federations talk about and rarely do.

One week to go. Get the pass, pick your matches, and if you’re anywhere near Punjab, go. Tournaments like this don’t come home often. And if you missed it, here’s the story of the trophy’s own tour across Punjab.