One Week to Go: Bhopal Ready for the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy
Seven days out, and Bhopal is ready. The Women’s Asian Champions Trophy starts on Thursday 19 November at the International Sports Complex in Nathu Barkheda, and the city is hosting an international hockey tournament for the first time.
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey welcomed the tournament’s return to Bhopal after several years, saying hockey is being revived in cities where the sport was once popular. That’s the point of taking the tournament there. Bhopal has the history and the fans, and this is the first time Madhya Pradesh has hosted an international event of this scale.
The practical stuff is all good news for fans. Entry is free for every match. The stadium holds around 5,000. Every game is under floodlights. And if you can’t get to Bhopal, the whole tournament is live on Star Sports and JioHotstar in 166 countries.
The trophy tour is already on the road. MP Sports Minister Vishwas Sarang unveiled the trophy on Tuesday and flagged off a tour running until 17 November across all ten of the state’s divisions, taking the silverware out to the districts before the hockey starts.
India chasing a fourth title
India go in as defending champions, with titles in 2016, 2023 and 2024, and this is their first international outing since winning Asian Games gold in Japan. Salima Tete captains the side. Savita Punia is rested, so Bansari Solanki gets her chance in goal.
The format is simple. Six teams, one round robin, then the top four go to the semi-finals on Friday 27 November. The bronze medal match and the final are on Saturday 28 November, at 4:30pm and 7:00pm IST. There are rest days on 20, 23 and 26 November.
China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand make up the rest of the field, and nobody there is making up the numbers. Japan and Korea have both beaten India in this competition before. China finished runners-up in 2024. Malaysia and Thailand will be out to prove they belong at this level.
India open against Malaysia on Thursday night, 7:00pm IST, which is 6:30pm in Pakistan. That’s the game that sets the tone. Win it well, and the defending champions can breathe. Drop points, and every game after it gets tighter.
For our money, India start favourites, but this is a short tournament and one bad afternoon in the round robin can cost you a semi-final spot. The hosts have the squad and the crowd. Now they need the week to go their way.
Full fixtures (IST, PKT in brackets):
Thursday 19 November: China v Thailand 1:00pm (12:30pm PKT); Japan v Korea 3:15pm (2:45pm PKT); India v Malaysia 7:00pm (6:30pm PKT)
Saturday 21 November: China v Malaysia 2:30pm (2:00pm PKT); Thailand v Japan 4:45pm (4:15pm PKT); India v Korea 7:00pm (6:30pm PKT)
Sunday 22 November: Japan v China 2:30pm (2:00pm PKT); Korea v Malaysia 4:30pm (4:00pm PKT); Thailand v India 7:00pm (6:30pm PKT)
Tuesday 24 November: Korea v Thailand 2:30pm (2:00pm PKT); Malaysia v Japan 4:45pm (4:15pm PKT); India v China 7:00pm (6:30pm PKT)
Wednesday 25 November: Malaysia v Thailand 2:30pm (2:00pm PKT); China v Korea 4:45pm (4:15pm PKT); Japan v India 7:00pm (6:30pm PKT)
Friday 27 November: 5th/6th place play-off 2:00pm (1:30pm PKT); semi-finals 4:30pm (4:00pm PKT) and 7:00pm (6:30pm PKT)
Saturday 28 November: Bronze medal match 4:30pm (4:00pm PKT); final 7:00pm (6:30pm PKT)
