Captain Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh scored two goals each as defending champions India defeated China 5-2 in the men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2026 at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar, Punjab, on Thursday, registering their second consecutive victory in the tournament.
Sukhjeet (12′, 34′), who was named Player of the Match, and Harmanpreet (27′, 31′) led India’s attack, while Jugraj Singh (47′) added the fifth goal. Yang Peng (26′) and Chen Chongcong (36′) scored for China.
India, who began their campaign with a commanding 13-0 victory over Bangladesh, faced a stronger challenge from China, who displayed attacking intent in the opening exchanges.
China’s Zhang Jialiang made an early circle entry after collecting an aerial pass, while India responded through Hardik Singh’s attacking run. Mandeep Singh also attempted to create an opportunity following a diagonal pass from Amandeep Lakra.
India broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when Sukhjeet controlled a long aerial pass from Jugraj, took a couple of touches and lifted the ball over advancing Chinese goalkeeper Wu Huanyu from a difficult angle.
China nearly equalised two minutes later, but Indian goalkeeper Suraj Karkera produced two quick saves to preserve the lead.
The visitors maintained a compact defensive structure in the second quarter, restricting India’s attacking opportunities. Their efforts paid off in the 26th minute when Yang Peng converted a penalty corner to level the score at 1-1.
However, India regained the lead a minute later through Harmanpreet, who converted a penalty corner with a powerful drag-flick.
China earned another penalty corner before half-time, but Amit Rohidas blocked the initial attempt, while the subsequent effort failed to produce a clear scoring opportunity.
India entered the interval with a 2-1 advantage.
The hosts made an aggressive start to the third quarter, with Harmanpreet converting another penalty corner in the 31st minute to extend the lead to 3-1.
Three minutes later, Sukhjeet completed his brace after Aditya Arjun Lalage controlled an aerial pass from Harmanpreet and cut the ball back for the forward to finish.
China reduced the deficit in the 36th minute when Chen Chongcong converted a penalty corner, making it 4-2.
Despite China’s occasional attacking moves, India maintained control and continued to create scoring opportunities.
Five-time champions India added another goal in the 47th minute when Jugraj converted a penalty corner with a precise flick to extend the lead to 5-2.
India earned another penalty corner late in the match after Angad Bir Singh was brought down while entering the circle from the left. China challenged the decision unsuccessfully, but goalkeeper Wu Huanyu denied Harmanpreet a hat-trick with a stretching right-foot save.
In Thursday’s other matches, Malaysia defeated South Korea 3-1, while Japan edged Bangladesh 1-0.
With the victory, India moved to the top of the standings with six points from two matches and a goal difference of +16. Malaysia and Japan also have six points, with goal differences of +3 and +2, respectively.
South Korea, China and Bangladesh remain without points after losing their opening two matches.
India will next face Japan on Friday, October 30, at 7 pm IST at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium.
The six participating teams are competing in a single round-robin league, with the top four advancing to the semi-finals.
The league stage will continue in Jalandhar until November 2, before the tournament shifts to Mohali for the semi-finals on November 4 and the medal matches on November 5.
(IANS Inputs)
