The Beighton Cup is the oldest Hockey tournament held in India. The tournament was organised for the first time at Kolkata in 1895 and is being organised annually, since then. The tournament is counted amongst the most prestigious hockey tournaments in the world. It was named after the then Legal Remembrancer of the Government of Bengal, Mr. T. D. Beighton. The Indian Football Association was in charge of organising the Beighton Cup in the first few years. However, the tournament is organised by the Bengal Hockey Association, at present.

The inception of Beighton Cup is closely related with the history of Hockey in India. Hockey was brought to India by the British rulers during the later half of the nineteenth century. Hockey was first played in an organised manner in Kolkata and the first Hockey club of India was also established in Kolkata. The Beighton Cup was organised as a part of popularising Hockey in India and it has so far played a major role in spreading hockey throughout India. The Beighton Cup led the way for inauguration of Calcutta Hockey League in the year 1905.

Almost all the major hockey clubs of India during the late 1800s took part in the Beighton Cup in 1895. The clubs like the Calcutta Naval Volunteers Club (now known as Calcutta Rangers Club), Calcutta Customs, Jhansi Heroes, etc. were the premier participants of the tournament in the initial years. Among these teams, the Calcutta Rangers Club has the distinction of winning the Beighton Cup for 9 times, including the inaugural edition. The tournament is now played among the teams coming from different governmental organisations and corporate houses. The teams like Indian Airlines, the Border Security Force, the Punjab & Sind Bank, the Army XI, the Indian Oil Corporation, the Punjab Police, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Central Industrial Security Force, etc. are some of the prominent participants of the Beighton Cup in the recent years.

The Beighton Cup has made a huge contribution to Indian Hockey, since its inception. There was a time when the Indian national hockey team was selected based on the players` performances in this tournament only. The tournament has also given birth to numerous extremely talented Indian hockey players.