Asian Champions Trophy 2026: India beats Korea 8-0 to stay unbeaten

India blanked South Korea 8-0 in their fifth and final round-robin match of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Monday, remaining unbeaten and finishing on top of the standings with a maximum 15 points from five wins.

The match took place in Jalandhar, the last group-stage game before the tournament shifts to Mohali for the knockout stage.

The 2026 Men's Asian Champions Trophy is the ninth edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Hockey Federation, held from 27 October to 5 November 2026 across two cities in Punjab, India.

The event features Asia's six top field hockey teams competing in a round-robin format. India is the most successful team in tournament history, having won the trophy five times.

Match details and scorers

Dilpreet Singh scored a brace in the 8th and 40th minutes. Jugraj Singh scored in the 11th minute, Harmanpreet Singh in the 15th, Shilanand Lakra in the 33rd, Sukhjeet Singh in the 34th, Sanjay in the 36th and Angad Bir Singh in the 60th.

Seven different scorers found the net for India. India recorded 19 shots at goal to South Korea's four. India made a blistering start, scoring three times in the first quarter before adding four more goals in the third quarter.

South Korea won four penalty corners back-to-back in the second quarter but failed to convert, with Krishan Bahadur Pathak in goal for India. India had eight penalty corners in the match and held 60 percent possession.

Tournament context and knockout stage

India had earlier defeated Bangladesh 13-0, China 5-2, Japan 4-1 and Malaysia 4-2 to remain unbeaten in the tournament.

Hardik Singh was rested ahead of the knockout games as the campaign moved to Mohali, and Abhishek's status remained uncertain after twisting his ankle during warm-up ahead of Sunday's match.

India will take on South Korea in the semifinals on Wednesday, while Malaysia will face Japan in the other last-four match. Malaysia and Japan drew 1-1 earlier in the day.

Japan overcame a missed penalty stroke by Jun Watanabe in the seventh minute to upset Asian Games runner-up Malaysia 2-1 and climb to second spot on the table. Kentaro Fukuda struck twice for Japan, both six minutes before the whistle either side of half time.

Malaysia had taken the lead through Abu Kamal Azrai on the counter.

Related on Apex Sports News

• India beat Japan 4-1 in Asian Champions Trophy 2026 match in Jalandhar

• Asian Champions Trophy 2026: India beat China 5-2 as Harmanpreet and Sukhjeet score braces

• Asian Champions Trophy: South Korea, Japan Secure Semifinal Berths

Sources

• Sportstar

• NDTV Sports

• Photo: fh.mum1 from Louisville, KY, USA, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)