Lights, bhangra, action: Inside Punjab’s enduring love affair with hockey

When the assignment of covering the Asian Champions Trophy in Jalandhar and Mohali came up, it was an opportunity I jumped at. Unlike my previous assignment during the Asia Cup 2025 in Rajgir, this was one I genuinely looked forward to.

For me, it was like one of the episodes of my favourite show, Top Gear, where Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May went in search of the source of the River Nile, which they considered the cradle of life. Here, it was a chance to explore and find the roots of one of India’s most loved sports, hockey.

Over the years, I had seen the sheer volume of players coming out of Punjab and their heroics in making India one of the greatest sides in the sport’s history. While my team lead signed off on the assignment, my wife, the manager at home, had reservations about whether I was making the trip simply to run away from my responsibilities at home and from her.

Well, after sitting through countless press conferences involving players, coaches and officials over the years, I had the answer ready.

“It’s part of the job. We need to trust the process. It’s all about representing your team on a big stage.”

After that diplomatic and rather boring answer, I packed my bags, just like Clarkson, Hammond and May in that Top Gear Africa special, to find the cradle of hockey.

The aim, as always, was to deliver x number of interviews, features and anything newsworthy. This was a project close to my heart, as I had always been fascinated by Punjab and its rich culture. Nothing was going to stop me from doing it.

But, like any Top Gear episode, there was a blooper waiting in the wings.

For me, it was missing my train to Jalandhar.

After a panic-filled hour, during which I spoke to my work lead and the boss at home, I was finally able to board a bus and get the journey back on track. Now, nothing was going to stop me.

FROM PUNJAB WITH LOVE

My perception of Punjab was that it was a loud place filled with bhangra, bright lights and plenty of music. Yet that thought quickly changed when I reached Jalandhar.

The city had the appearance of a sleepy town, where people simply went about their work and daily lives. Naturally, I expected things to be smooth in such a place, especially when it came to travelling around. When I picked my hotel, it was just four kilometres away from the stadium.

In Delhi, that distance feels like nothing. Even with heavy traffic, it would be a journey of barely 10 minutes. Well, Jalandhar made me realise just how spoiled I had become by all these taxi apps.

The four-kilometre journey to the stadium felt like it was never going to end. It went on and on and on. The shortcuts took me through crowded marketplaces, where people and cars felt like a penalty corner defence. Thou shalt not pass was the message.

Mohali felt closer to Delhi, with taxi apps providing the pampering I needed. While the traffic halts were similar to Jalandhar, the beauty of the city immediately caught my attention.

One of my taxi drivers told me that the city had restricted the number of high-rise buildings to allow the trees to grow. That painted a picture of a city wrapped in green.

The people were mostly kind and affectionate. An elderly couple were gracious enough to share a ride with me in Jalandhar on my first day there. They even affectionately scolded me when I tried to pay the bill.

Then there was the Punjab Police force, tirelessly present at every corner of the city. They told me that they weren’t essentially based in Jalandhar or Mohali. They had been stationed in the two cities to ensure the smooth conduct of the tournament, Punjab’s first major international hockey event in 17 years.

Behind their macho appearance, with finely wrapped turbans, well-groomed beards, perfectly twirled moustaches and towering presence, there was a sense of warmth towards everyone entering the stadiums.

And how did these arenas respond to hockey?

In Jalandhar, the answer was quite simple. If India is playing, then we are here. The fans did show their support for other sides also, but when India is playing, every corner of the stadium was filled.

Fans kept flowing in even as the first quarter was underway. The sound of each goal inside the stadium felt like a cheer of affirmation that India were the kings of Asia. Each goal they conceded was met with surprise and a question. “Wait, how did we concede?”

And then they just rallied themselves up to support the team.

The Mohali stadium wasn’t filled to the rafters and that wasn’t down to the fans not showing love for the game. The stadium had a capacity of 13k and despite many coming in, some empty seats were bound to happen.

But on the day of the final was when Mohali showed its true fan spirit. Just as India went behind, the crowd fell silent. But each attack was quickly cheered on. The Indian team looked a bit jaded in the first half, but Mohali kept egging them on to get the equaliser.

And when that did happen in the third quarter, the stadium started rocking. From there on, it almost seemed like the crowd was pulling the ball into the Japan net as India found a few extra gears thanks to the fans.

In Jalandhar, the fans would leave early as soon as they saw India were winning. It wasn’t disrespect, but down to the fact that they needed to avoid the traffic blocks inside the city.

In Mohali, everyone stayed back to see the Indian team and just enveloped them after the win.

INDIA LIFT TITLE, BUT DID THEY REALLY WIN?

Now, let’s get into the game. India won their sixth Asian Champions Trophy title in Jalandhar and Mohali. They went unbeaten, scoring 46 goals and conceding just seven.

Harmanpreet Singh scored 10 goals, while India netted 27 field goals. Nilakanta Sharma got his fairytale ending, Mandeep Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh and Amit Rohidas remained defiant about retirement, and Craig Fulton extended his dominant run against Asian teams.

But was the win worth all the hype? Honestly, no.

India’s title win seemed to be a mere formality before the tournament even started (Courtesy: Hockey India)

The standard of Asian hockey has declined massively over the last few years, and this tournament showed where things stand at the moment.

It felt like watching Ligue 1, where PSG are miles ahead of everyone else, with the remaining teams fighting for the other spots. While Japan did their best to silence the crowds, India still put eight goals past them across both games.

This tournament was a chance for India to begin the transition that had been widely discussed and promised. It was the perfect opportunity to bring in youngsters and start their journey towards LA 2028.

Instead, what we saw was Hockey India and the team management bowing down to the demand of having all the main Punjab players grace the field.

The answer to silence the questions was as media-trained as it could get.

“Some of these players have been waiting 17 years to play infront of their families and academies. That’s why,” said Fulton after the first game.

The emotional side of it is nice, but will you ever hear Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium or Australia doing the same? Highly doubt it.

India named a squad that contained its Asian Games core, which had scored 58 goals in Nagoya and steamrolled past the opposition. At least, you would have expected something to change.

Amandeep Lakra, one of the country’s rising sensations in drag-flicking, got just one opportunity to take a penalty corner in the entire tournament. His effort struck the Korean goalkeeper’s hand in the semifinal. Sanjay, who perhaps is much lower in the pecking order for penalty corners, actually got more opportunities than Amandeep.

At the other end, China arrived with a completely new side. Korea made as many as 11 changes, saying that this was their transition.

A team like Bangladesh, struggling to find its footing, was using the tournament to gain more exposure.

Hopefully, this changes during the New Zealand tour, where a young squad has been promised. The team management itself said that a new core group would come in and the selection process would change.

Here’s hoping that it truly does. And that brings me to another big conundrum in Indian hockey right now.

FINDING DILIP TIRKEY

The ACT was a historic moment for Indian hockey. The sport was back at one of its true focal points, a place rich in heritage. Indian hockey legends and former players were present. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann made it his mission to attend the start of the tournament, the final match in Jalandhar and the closing of the show.

Hockey India also arrived with its full strength of officials. The fans turned up in numbers. And yet, one main man was missing.

Dilip Tirkey, the Hockey India president.

Dilip Tirkey wasn’t seen for the entire duration of ACT (Courtesy: PTI)

It was surprising to see that. In Rajgir during the Asia Cup 2025, he was front and centre of the whole show. He seemed to be the head of the house, taking care of the family.

In Punjab, however, it felt like the father had abandoned his home and left. After the first few days had passed, I asked if he would come at some point during the tournament.

“No, he isn’t expected to be here,” is the answer I got from someone close to HI.

And that was that.

In the past few months, the infighting within HI has been exposed to a great extent. The election season is just around the corner (although the Hockey Odisha issue may change things), and it has been Tirkey vs the rest for some time.

But amidst all this politics, Tirkey should have been here and made his presence felt.

“Dilip Bhaiyya, should have been here. This doesn’t show him in a good light,” said one of the Indian legends, who was gracious enough to give me a ride to my hotel on a busy night in Jalandhar.

This was a chance for Tirkey to show that he was still present for the sport’s cause. Instead, he conceded a penalty stroke in the dying moments of the game. The result of this may become clear when the new office-bearers of HI are selected.

WHAT HOCKEY MEANS FOR PUNJAB

This was the real reason I went to cover this tournament: to find out what hockey really meant to the state of Punjab.

Jalandhar may be a bit sleepy, but when it hears the name of hockey, it comes alive. During the matches in the city, the crowds turned up for the India games, as expected.

They couldn’t care less about any of the other theatrics. As the DJ played Sidhu Moosewala, Diljit Dosanjh and Karan Aujla, they grooved to the tunes. But once the Indian team came out to warm up, they didn’t care about anything else.

Not the dance performances or the crowd activities. It seemed their only demand was to see India play.

A packed Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium, passionate fans and an atmosphere like no other! The crowd is out in full force, cheering every moment as India take on Malaysia at the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026! #HockeyIsBack #HACT2026 #SatSriAkalAsia #IndiaKaGame— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) November 1, 2026

Mohali was more refined, but the intensity and love for the Indian team remained constant.

Then came the grassroots work being done to produce new stars. While Jalandhar was like one of your traditional tuition centres, Mohali seemed to represent the new-age way of learning.

The Surjit Hockey Academy produced close to nine members of the ACT squad and aims to produce more Surjits. It has promising young talents staying in its hostels, where they are provided with schooling, training and the security of not having to look over their shoulders and worry about their future.

Then there is the Roundglass Hockey Academy in Mohali, which gave me a glimpse into what the future of talent development in the sport should look like.

I saw one of its junior sides take on the Indian Air Force first team on a turf modelled on the one used during the Paris Olympics.

The youngsters were preparing for the Nehru Cup under the watchful eyes of Rajinder Sr., with a video analyst also in place, reviewing their every move. The former India coach also assured that every player’s diet plan, recovery, medical needs and even issues back home were being handled by the academy.

In an age where every single sport is moving towards modernisation, this seemed to be the right blueprint for hockey. For years, we heard the story of how India struggled to adapt to astroturf.

Here, in Mohali, it seemed like the kids were not just being given their first lessons to handle the surface, but a full experience of what international hockey looks like. This certainly was an avenue I wanted to check separately, but time constraints meant I had to keep this as a different project for a later date.

Then there was the question of what the sport meant to the people in these cities. In the yesteryears, it was all about carrying on a legacy, according to Olympian Col. Balbir Singh. He saw the golden period of hockey as a kid and then as a player, with stars coming in from the same region.

“Sansarpur, Khusropur and Mithapur villages in Jalandhar have all contributed to Indian hockey. If you count the Olympians from these villages together, the number becomes even more impressive.”

“There were players from our village who played in different Olympics. After them, other players followed. We watched them playing, and the younger boys started thinking that they could also play for India.”

“There were so many players from the same area. You would find players from the same families and even from the same streets representing the country.”

“That is why I say you will not easily find another place like this, where so many Olympians and medal-winning players have come from such a small area,” said Balbir Singh.

For the hockey aspirants, it was about just trying to replicate what their idols are doing on the hockey field.

“The players who have represented India also come here and meet us. When we see them, we get inspired. We feel that we can also reach that level and play for India. It gives us hope that our dreams can also come true,” said Abhijot Singh, a left half in the U-17 team at Surjit Academy.

Harsimran Singh, a fullback in the U-19 side, is an aspiring drag-flicker and has just one thing on his mind.

“For me, it might take three to four years. If everything goes well, I hope to join the Indian team by then.”

“My dream is to form a drag-flicking combination with Harmanpreet paaji. Drag-flickers, like goalkeepers, are available in very limited numbers. They are quite rare.”

“So, I dream of being part of that Indian team where Harmanpreet paaji is at one end and I am at the other, with someone like Manpreet or Hardik paaji injecting the ball. I am waiting for that opportunity. That is my dream,” said Harsimran.

And that seems to be what hockey means to Punjab. It is about the hope of seeing some of its biggest stars on the turf, producing new talent and simply enjoying hockey as it is.

So, like the episode in Top Gear, they were able to find the source of the Nile. For me, I was able to find the source of happiness, hope and pure excitement of Punjab. And that was hockey.

– Ends