India beat Japan 4-1 in Jalandhar to clinch semi-final place at Men's Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026
India defeated Japan 4-1 at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar on Friday in the Men’s Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026, recording their third straight victory and securing a place in the semi-finals. Abhishek scored twice (11′, 51′) while captain Harmanpreet Singh (47′) and Vishnu Kant Singh (56′) also scored; Shota Yamada converted a penalty stroke for Japan (15′).
India made two changes to their starting line-up, introducing Vishnu Kant and Angad Bir Singh while Mandeep Singh and Nilakanta Sharma were rested. The victory was registered in Abhishek’s 150th international match and he received the Player of the Match award. The result left the defending champions with three wins from three group matches.
Japan began the match with an aggressive press and earned a penalty corner in the second minute, but failed to convert. India opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Vivek Sagar Prasad fed Sukhjeet Singh on the left; Sukhjeet cut the ball back for Abhishek to finish.
Japan levelled in the 15th minute after a late first-half penalty corner sequence: a saved attempt led to a penalty stroke when the ball struck Sanjay’s forearm on the goal line, and Shota Yamada scored from the spot to make it 1-1. The remainder of the second quarter saw Japan enjoying more possession, and India’s goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak deny a Japanese break after Haruki Ochiai connected with Tsubasa Tanaka on the left.
India threatened before half-time, with Angad Bir Singh’s 24th-minute backhand effort saved and a 27th-minute move involving Harmanpreet and Abhishek failing to yield a goal after an unsuccessful referral. The teams went into the interval level at 1-1.
The hosts took greater control after the break, with Sukhjeet missing a 32nd-minute chance and Japan’s 36th-minute penalty corner repelled by India’s PC defence. India opened the lead in the 47th minute when Harmanpreet converted a penalty corner; it was his fifth goal of the tournament, all from penalty corners.
Abhishek added his second in the 51st minute following a move that saw Dilpreet Singh feed Sanjay, who cut the ball back for Abhishek to score. Vishnu Kant sealed the 4-1 win in the 56th minute, receiving Harmanpreet’s diagonal aerial pass outside the circle, bringing it down and flicking past the goalkeeper; India managed the closing stages to preserve the scoreline. After the match Abhishek said: "Our strategy in the last quarter was to control the game and press higher. That is how we got the goals. At half-time, coach Craig Fulton told us to create pressure on Japan. "We were trying to win penalty corners from the start, but it took time. When we got the first one, Harmanpreet scored on the first attempt," he said.
Elsewhere on Friday, Malaysia beat Bangladesh 6-1 to record their third win and secure a semi-final place, while South Korea defeated China 2-1. The group standings show India top with nine points from three matches and a goal difference of +19; Malaysia are level on nine points with a +8 goal difference, Japan have six points, South Korea three, and China and Bangladesh remain without points after three defeats each.
India’s next match is against Malaysia on Sunday, 1 November, at 1900 hrs IST in Jalandhar.