India Hockey Setback as Manpreet Misses Asian Trophy

Jalandhar, October 26: The Indian men's hockey team has received an unwelcome setback as it prepares for the Asian Champions Trophy 2026. Veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to a calf injury suffered during training. Vivek Sagar Prasad has been added to the squad in his place.

The Asian Champions Trophy 2026 gets underway on Tuesday, with India preparing to defend its title. The other participating nations are Malaysia, Japan, China, South Korea and Bangladesh.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh addressed the media at a press conference and outlined the situation. According to him, Manpreet sustained a calf injury during a training session and will not feature in the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026. Vivek Sagar Prasad has been named as the replacement in the national side.

The injury is a particularly hard blow because Manpreet had been looking forward to competing at his home venue, where he first learned to play hockey during his teenage years. He made his senior India debut in 2011 and has gone on to play 430 international matches. In that time, he has helped India win two Olympic medals and three Asian Games gold medals. Even with such a distinguished career, he has not yet had the opportunity to play in front of fans in his home state of Punjab.

India begins its group-stage campaign against Bangladesh on October 27. The team will then play China on October 29, Japan on October 30, Malaysia on November 1 and South Korea on November 2.

The league stage runs in Jalandhar from October 27 to November 2. The tournament will then move to the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali, which will stage the semifinals and medal matches on November 4 and 5.

This is the ninth edition of the event. India has lifted the Asian Champions Trophy a record five times, and South Korea is the only other team among the participants to have won the title.