Men’s Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024: From India’s squad to schedule, everything you need to know

The Indian men’s hockey team will be looking to hit the restart button after a successful Olympic campaign and defend its Asian Champions Trophy title when it opens its campaign against hosts China in Hulunbuir, China on Sunday. After claiming back-to-back Olympic bronze medals, India will be starting as favourites to defend its ACT title against Asia’s top hockey nations in the form of China, Japan, Pakistan, Korea and Malaysia. Last year, India won the title at home, making them the only team to have won four titles in the history of the tournament.

After a short break following the Paris Olympics, Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh is keen to continue his dominance at the continental championships.

“Last year’s Asian Champions Trophy gave us the right momentum for the Asian Games and followed that up with the Olympic Games triumph of being on the podium again. This time too, we want to start the new Olympic cycle by winning this tournament,” Harmanpreet said about their tournament opener.

“While we have 10 members of the Olympic team competing in this tournament, we also have a few young players trying to make their mark on the team.

“From a game perspective, our attacking and penalty corners are our strong points, but we will try to play a structured defence, especially against teams like Japan, Malaysia and Pakistan. This is an important tournament for us in terms of world ranking points and we are ready for the challenge,” he added.

After China, India will take on Japan in their second match on September 9, followed by matches against last year’s runners-up Malaysia on September 11, Korea on September 12 and arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14.

The semi-finals and finals are scheduled for September 16 and 17.

India’s schedule for the 2024 Men’s Asian Champions Trophy:

vs China – September 8 – 3:30 PM

vs Japan – September 9 – 1:15 PM

vs Malaysia – September 11 – 1:15 PM

vs South Korea – September 12 – 1:15 PM

vs Pakistan – September 14 – 1:15 PM

Indian selection:

Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Suraj Karkera

Defenders – Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit

Midfielders – Raj Kumar Pal, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad (VC), Manpreet Singh, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen

Forwards: Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Uttam Singh, Gurjot Singh

With PTI inputs