India rally to beat Japan 4-1 at Olympian Balbir Singh Stadium to win Men's Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026
India scored four goals in the final 18 minutes to defeat Japan 4-1 at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in the final of the Men's Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2026 on Thursday.
The hosts completed an unbeaten campaign, having won all five league matches and then beating South Korea 8-1 in the semi-final, to secure a third successive title and a record-extending sixth overall. The victory was Nilakanta Sharma’s final international appearance after he had announced this would be his last tournament. The final also featured a packed home crowd at the Mohali venue.
Japan struck first when Matsumoto Kazumasa gave them the lead in the third minute, driving into the circle from the right from a pass by Saito Hiro and finishing with a reverse hit that beat goalkeeper Suraj Karkera. India gradually increased possession but found Japan’s compact defensive setup hard to break down; Nilakanta’s diagonal to Abhishek in the ninth produced a tomahawk that went wide, Dilpreet could not control a pass from Jugraj, and Hardik Singh tested Japan keeper Kisho Kuroda from the top of the circle.
Japan earned two penalty corners in the second quarter, the first blocked and the second awarded after a successful video referral following a penalty on Harmanpreet Singh; captain Raiki Fujishima’s subsequent shot was deflected away. India did not win a single penalty corner in the first two quarters despite making 11 circle penetrations, and Japan’s close marking limited India’s aerial options. As the hosts struggled to find an equaliser, the capacity crowd grew noticeably quieter.
India emerged with greater urgency after half-time and forced an early penalty corner where Harmanpreet’s drag-flick was saved by Kuroda. A later variation on a second penalty-corner attempt produced the leveller in the 42nd minute: Harmanpreet slipped the ball to Sukhjeet whose attempt was blocked, Dilpreet collected and moved it to Aditya near the baseline, and Aditya’s cut-back allowed Shilanand Lakra to deflect home; Japan referred for dangerous play but the on-field decision stood.
The hosts completed the comeback with three goals in the final quarter. Dilpreet Singh put India ahead in the 48th minute after a move involving Sanjay and Hardik, with Hardik regaining possession and sliding the ball to Dilpreet. Jugraj Singh converted a penalty corner with a drag-flick in the 53rd minute and Sukhjeet Singh made it 4-1 in the 54th minute by deflecting a slapshot from Vivek Sagar Prasad. Japan threatened late—Matsumoto tried to score with Krishan Bahadur Pathak off his line and Fujishima’s drag-flick from a penalty corner with 12 seconds remaining went wide—before the final hooter.
Several individual milestones and awards accompanied the result: Hardik made his 200th senior international appearance and was presented with a special jersey by Punjab Chief Minister Shri Bhagwant Mann before the match; Krishan Bahadur Pathak was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament; and Harmanpreet Singh received the Hero of the Tournament award and finished as top scorer with 10 goals, taking his senior international tally to 250. Hockey India announced a cash reward of ₹3 lakhs for each player and ₹1.5 lakhs for each member of the support staff. Malaysia won the bronze medal, defeating South Korea 5-2 through goals from Fitri Saari (2′), Faizal Saari (34′), Abu Kamal Azrai (45′, 50′) and captain Marhan Jalil (58′), while Geunwoo Park (5′) and Semin Chun (13′) scored for Korea.
The tournament concluded in Punjab with packed stadiums at the two venues, Jalandhar and Mohali, as India sealed a hat-trick of Asian Champions Trophy titles between 2023 and 2026.