IFTA 2026: India has voted. See the winners.

India’s men’s hockey team won the Asian Champions Trophy for a record sixth time on 5 November, beating Japan 4-1 in the final in Mohali. It was their third title in a row and capped a home tournament in which they won all seven of their matches. For 39 minutes of that final, though, they were behind.

Two field hockey players chasing the ball on a blue-walled pitch

Seven out of seven

The ninth edition of the tournament was played in Punjab with six teams: India, Malaysia, China, Japan, South Korea and Bangladesh. League matches were held at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar, and the semi-finals and final at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali. Entry was free at both grounds, according to All India Radio.

India opened on 27 October by beating Bangladesh 13-0, with Mandeep Singh scoring a hat-trick. They followed it with wins of 5-2 over China, 4-1 over Japan, 4-2 over Malaysia and 8-0 over South Korea, topping the league. In the semi-final they met South Korea again and won 8-1.

Add the 4-1 final and India scored 46 goals across seven matches and conceded seven. After four games they were already the only unbeaten side in the competition, with a goal difference of +21.

The final scare

Japan, who finished second in the league, struck first. Kazumasa Matsumoto scored with a reverse hit in the third minute, and India could not find a way back before half-time. Japan won two penalty corners in the 20th minute and India defended both. When India got their first penalty corner in the 33rd minute, goalkeeper Kisho Kuroda saved Harmanpreet Singh’s flick.

The turnaround came in a 12-minute spell. Shilanand Lakra equalised in the 42nd minute, finishing a rebound from a penalty corner. Dilpreet Singh put India ahead in the 48th with a reverse hit after a move involving Hardik Singh. Jugraj Singh converted a penalty corner in the 53rd minute, and Vivek Sagar Prasad hit the fourth from the top of the circle a minute later.

Japan’s last chance was a penalty corner with 12 seconds left on the clock. It went wide.

Captain and set pieces

Captain Harmanpreet Singh was India’s main scorer in the league. He scored twice against Bangladesh, twice against China and then a hat-trick against Malaysia on 1 November: two penalty corners and a penalty stroke in the 58th minute. Khel Now reported that he led the tournament’s scoring chart with eight goals after four matches and was named Player of the Match against Malaysia.

Jugraj Singh scored against Bangladesh and converted penalty corners against China and in the final. But the field goals were just as important. In the 8-0 league win over South Korea, three goals came from penalty corners and five from open play.

Dilpreet Singh was the standout there. He scored twice against Bangladesh, twice in the league game against South Korea, twice more in the semi-final and once in the final, at least seven goals in all. Lakra also scored twice in the semi-final.

A sixth title

India’s earlier Asian Champions Trophy titles came in 2011, 2016, 2018, 2023 and 2024. With this one they have six, more than any other team, and three in a row.

The final was also vice-captain Hardik Singh’s 200th international match. And the result follows another win over Asian opposition this year: Khel Now noted that India beat Malaysia 5-1 in the gold-medal match at the 2026 Asian Games.

What to watch

The numbers show India are well ahead of the rest of Asia. They won every game, and three of their seven wins came by seven goals or more. But the final showed a weakness that stronger teams will exploit: India trailed for 39 minutes and did not score until the 42nd minute against a side they had beaten 4-1 six days earlier.

The other point to watch is how the scoring is shared. India still lean on Harmanpreet’s drag-flicks, but this tournament showed they can win when the penalty corners are not going in. Dilpreet, Lakra and Sukhjeet Singh all scored from open play. Against European and Australian sides, India will need both kinds of goal.