Mohali, November 5: India won the Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026 on Thursday, coming from a goal down to beat Japan 4-1 in the final at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium. Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad all scored in the second half as the defending champions took a record sixth title.
It is India’s third Asian Champions Trophy title in a row after their wins in 2023 and 2024. They had also won in 2011, 2016 and 2018. Harmanpreet Singh’s side finished the tournament unbeaten, winning all seven of their matches.
Japan strike early
Japan went ahead inside the first three minutes. Kazumasa Matsumoto got past Jugraj, slipped away from Jarmanpreet Singh and beat the goalkeeper with a reverse flick from a tight angle.
India pushed for an equaliser but found Japan hard to break down. An early referral for a penalty corner was turned down by the video umpire, and a direct strike from Hardik Singh was saved. Aditya Lalage picked up the rebound inside the circle, but his shot was blocked. Japan kept their 1-0 lead until half-time.
Four goals in 12 minutes
The breakthrough came in the 42nd minute, when Shilanand levelled the scores. It was his third goal in two days after his double against Korea in the semi-final.
Dilpreet, Player of the Match in the semi-final, put India in front in the 48th minute. Jugraj made it 3-1 in the 53rd minute, and Vivek added the fourth a minute later to settle the final.
Unbeaten through Punjab
The tournament was played across two venues in Punjab. India won all five of their league matches in Jalandhar, including a 4-1 win over Japan on October 30, when Abhishek scored twice on his 150th appearance. They topped the table with 15 points and then beat Korea 8-1 in the semi-final in Mohali.
Japan finished second in the league with 10 points. They reached the final by beating Malaysia 5-3 in a shootout after their semi-final ended goalless. Malaysia went on to take the bronze medal, beating South Korea 5-2.
A strong season for Fulton’s side
The title adds to a good run for Craig Fulton’s team, who won gold at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya after beating Malaysia 5-1 in the final. Across the tournament in Punjab, India’s attack spread the goals around, with Harmanpreet, Shilanand, Dilpreet, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh and Vivek among the scorers.
Japan finish as runners-up, with both of their defeats in the tournament coming against India. Follow more hockey news on Read.