On arrival, the trophy was accorded a rousing welcome with much fanfare by Nitin Kohli President, Hockey Punjab, Deputy Commissioner Jalandhar Varjeet Walia, Commissioner of Police Jalandhar Satinder Singh and Hockey Olympians Harpreet Singh Mander and Baljit Singh Dhillon and International Hockey Player Jagdeep Gill.
Commencing on October 18th from the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium, Phase-10, Mohali, the trophy tour traversed through various cities and towns intricately connected with the sport of hockey.
During its week-long tour, the trophy received an overwhelming reception from hockey legends including Harcharan Singh, Hardeep Singh Grewal, Chand Singh, Gagan Ajit Singh, Rajpal Singh, Prabhjyot Singh, Jugraj Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Dharmvir Singh, Rupa Saini, Baljit Kaur, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Harpreet Singh Mander, Ripudaman Singh, Jagdeep Gill and Padma Shri Hockey Coach Baldev Singh.
Throughout the tour, District Sports Officer (Bathinda) and Hockey Coach Rupinder Singh Brar accompanied the trophy.
The tour witnessed immense enthusiasm and craze among hockey lovers to catch a glimpse of the coveted trophy, for which six teams — Hosts India, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Malaysia and China — will compete from October 27th to November 5th, 2026.
The Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium, Jalandhar and Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium, Mohali will host the league matches & Semi-Finals and Final respectively.
The main rationale behind the Trophy Tour was to enable hockey fans, especially the younger generation, to develop a deep connect with the sport of hockey, many of whose shining stars hail from the State of Punjab.