Women's Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2026 In Bhopal, MP Academy Players Confident Of Victory On Home Turf

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Players of the Indian women's hockey team from Madhya Pradesh said they are excited and honoured to get the opportunity to play on their home turf. They added that the squad is in high spirits, in great form, and confident of lifting the Madhya Pradesh Women's Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2026 in the continental tournament, which begins in the city on Nov 19.

Three players in the national team - Sushila Chanu, Bichu Devi and Jyoti Singh - have been training at the Madhya Pradesh State Women's Hockey Academy in Gwalior for more than a decade. They arrived in the city, along with other members of the team, late in the evening on Sunday.

Jyoti Singh, whose ancestral home is in Datia, had joined the Gwalior Academy in 2016. “I am feeling proud and happy that I will be playing an international tournament on my home turf,” she told the Free Press. She said that the Indian team has been performing very well over the past year and is in great form.

The team's spirit is also high, having won the gold medal in the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, last month. “Hum taiyyar hain. Jeet hamari hi hogi,” she said.

Bichu Devi, who hails from Manipur, had joined the MP Women's Hockey Academy in 2015. “I have great memories of Bhopal. It was there that my team won the Junior National Hockey Tournament in 2017,” she said, adding that the team took a short break after its return from the Japan Asian Games.

For the past 25 days, they have been preparing for the Asian Champions Trophy at the SAI Southern Regional Centre in Bengaluru. “Hum ladne ko taiyyar hain aur hum jeetne ke liye hi ladte hain,” she said.

Sushila Chanu, also from Manipur, began playing hockey in 2006 and has been training at MP Academy since 2016. “I feel great that I will be playing before my home crowd,” she said. Sushila said that while the team has had a successful run for some time, no match and no team should be taken lightly. “Of course, when we play, we play to win,” she said.

Level up your brain the fun way. Play daily games and quizzes on FPJ Smart!