India to meet Japan in Asian Champions Trophy final at Mohali on November 5
India will face Japan in the Asian Champions Trophy final at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior Hockey Stadium in Mohali on Thursday, November 5, with Japan identified as the tournament’s main challenger.
The tournament, staged in Jalandhar and Mohali, had been expected to produce an India final and the hosts backed up that anticipation by dominating the round-robin stage; under Harmanpreet Singh's leadership India scored 34 goals in their first five matches while conceding five. India view the ACT as a chance to finish the 2026 season positively after a disappointing Hockey Pro League campaign and a subpar World Cup, having already achieved their major objective of winning gold at the Asian Games to secure direct qualification for the 2028 Olympics.
India extended their strong form in Wednesday’s semi-final, putting eight goals past Korea and reinforcing a dominant run against that opponent. Coach Craig Fulton has largely relied on a consistent game plan throughout the tournament, emphasising structure and basics as the platform for the team’s attacking strengths.
Japan’s run to the decider has been built on a clear playing approach rather than high-scoring wins: they opened with a 3-2 victory over Korea, followed by a 1-0 win against Bangladesh, and in their league-stage meeting with India they pressured the hosts for nearly 47 minutes and forced an equaliser to make it 1-1 before India ultimately prevailed.
A source close to the Indian team told India Today that Japan were expected to emerge as India’s opponents in the final, and Japan reinforced that preview by beating Asian Games silver medallists Malaysia twice—first 2-1 in the league stage and then by prevailing in a penalty shootout after a 5-5 semi-final draw.
Japan captain Raiki Fujishima outlined his side’s approach: "First of all, we want to be brave. We want to attack aggressively and also push when we are defending. That's the game plan," and added, "Even if there is an Indian crowd, it doesn't matter. We are focusing on what we have to do. We have to give everything we have. That's the Japanese style," said Fujishima.
Fulton set out India’s priorities ahead of the final: "We want a fast start, and that's how we want to set it up. But at the same time, they're a good team. But it's about us, and it's about us taking our chances and defending well," and later said, "You want to win the final, so you want to perform. So we've just got to come back to our basics, our basic game and real structure, and then we can play." Squad availability is a concern after Abhishek twisted his ankle in the match against Malaysia; the 27-year-old warmed up ahead of the semi-final and was named in the squad but did not play, leaving India managing a limited pool alongside careful management of Mandeep Singh and Rajinder Singh. On Abhishek's condition Fulton said: "He's close, but not yet. So I just give him more time, and the last thing we want to do is injure him, forcing him to play. He doesn't have to play, so we have time. But it's difficult because we only play with 15. So we've played three games now with 15 players. So it's, yeah. He's in the squad, so we'll see what happens," said Fulton.
Japan have beaten India only three times since 2013, with their most recent victory coming in 2022; India have won 27 of the 32 meetings while two matches have ended in draws. The ACT schedule on November 5 lists the third-place playoff between Malaysia and Korea at 4:30 PM and the final between India and Japan at 7 PM, with live broadcast in India on Star Sports Select 2 and livestreaming available on the JioHotstar app and website.