India thrash South Korea 8-1 to enter Asian Champions Trophy final

India stormed into the final of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2026 after thrashing South Korea 8-1 in the semifinal at Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.

The emphatic victory also marked the first international match hosted by the stadium, putting the venue on the global hockey map. India will face Japan in the final on November 5 at the same venue.

Shilanand Lakra opened India’s account with a field goal in the fourth minute. South Korea responded through Sangjun Han in the ninth minute, but India quickly regained the lead as captain Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner in the same minute.

Lakra extended the advantage with another penalty-corner goal in the 13th minute. Sukhjeet Singh and Dilpreet Singh scored field goals in the 21st minute to take India to a 5-1 lead. Dilpreet struck again in the 25th minute to make it 6-1.

Angad Bir Singh added India’s seventh goal with a field strike in the 36th minute, while Vivek Sagar Prasad completed the rout in the 54th minute to seal an 8-1 victory.

In the other semifinal, Japan defeated Malaysia 5-3 in a penalty shootout after both teams failed to score during regulation time. Kazumasa Matsumoto, Ryoma Ooka, Tsubasa Tanaka, Haruki Ochiai and Seren Tanaka converted their attempts for Japan. Aiman Rozemi, Shello Silverious and Abu Kamal Azrai scored for Malaysia.

Japan will now face India in the title match, while Malaysia will take on South Korea in the bronze medal contest.

Earlier, China defeated Bangladesh 3-1 to secure fifth place in the tournament. Yulai Zhao (10th), Yaqi Wang (18th) and Chongcong Chen (22nd) scored for China, while Shohanur Muhammad Rahman netted Bangladesh’s lone goal in the 48th minute.

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh, Sangrur MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh, former World Cup-winning captains Ajit Pal Singh and Aslam Sher Khan, Zafar Iqbal, Olympian Balbir Singh Randhawa, Rajinder Singh Senior and Kabir Singh, grandson of legendary hockey player Balbir Singh Senior, were among those present.