India thrash Korea 8-1 to reach Asian Champions Trophy final in Mohali

India defeated Korea 8-1 in a semifinal of the Asian Champions Trophy at the Olympian Balbir Singh International Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.

India moved a step closer to a sixth Asian Champions Trophy title in seven finals, repeating the dominance they showed against the same opponents in their final league match in Jalandhar two days earlier. The hosts controlled large portions of the semifinal across four quarters, building a lead that the Koreans could not overturn.

Shilanand Lakra opened the scoring in the fourth minute and Han Sangjun levelled for Korea five minutes later. By the end of the first quarter India led 3-1 and the margin had stretched to 6-1 by half-time.

The full scoring read: India 8 (Shilanand Lakra 4, 13 pc, Harmanpreet Singh 10, Sukhjeet Singh 21, Dilpreet Singh 21, 25, Angad Bir Singh 36, Vivek Sagar Prasad 54) bt Korea 1 (Han Sangjun 8). India’s goals arrived at regular intervals after the early equaliser and maintained pressure throughout the match.

Korea, fielding a side largely composed of youngsters with only five players from their recent Asian Games team, were unable to close the gap and extend a seven-year winless run against India. The visitors produced a couple of dangerous moments late in the third quarter, while goalkeeper Kim Jaehyeon made several notable saves that limited the severity of the scoreline.

Japan advanced to the final after a goalless draw with Malaysia, winning the shoot-out 5-3 to reach their third ACT final and their first since 2021. Japan’s defence held firm through repeated Malaysian attacks and five penalty corners, with goalkeeper Takumi Kitagawa singled out for his performance and captain Raiki Fujishima’s 57th-minute penalty-corner shot striking the post.

In the classification match for fifth place, China beat Bangladesh 3-1 with Yulai Zhao (10), Yaqi Wang (18) and Chen Chongcong (22-ps) scoring for China and Md. Shohanur Rahman converting a penalty corner for Bangladesh in the 48th minute.

India will face Japan in Thursday’s final, the first-ever Asian Champions Trophy final between the two nations.