India began their title defence at the Asian Champions Trophy with a 13-0 win over Bangladesh at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar on Tuesday, 27 October 2026. The Asian Champions Trophy match was India’s first of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026, and it put the defending champions top of the standings on the opening day. Mandeep Singh scored a hat-trick, while captain Harmanpreet Singh, Dilpreet Singh and Hardik Singh scored twice each.
India led 6-0 at half-time and kept scoring after the break. Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring in the second minute, and Mandeep Singh added goals in the third and 10th minutes. Shilanand Lakra scored in the 15th minute, Abhishek scored in the 18th minute, and Nilakanta Sharma scored in the 26th minute to complete the first-half scoring.
The second half followed the same pattern. Dilpreet Singh scored in the 43rd and 44th minutes, with Harmanpreet Singh also scoring in the 44th minute. Jugraj Singh scored in the 46th minute, and Mandeep Singh completed his hat-trick in the 54th minute. Hardik Singh then scored twice in the 60th minute, the second from a move that began with a pass from Harmanpreet Singh to Dilpreet Singh. India put 18 shots on target in the match and scored from 13 of them, according to a report on the opening day.
How the Asian Champions Trophy opener unfolded
The Asian Champions Trophy opener began just over a minute after the start, when Harmanpreet Singh scored from an early chance. Bangladesh, ranked 27th in the world against India’s eighth place, never recovered from that start. India were 8-0 up by the 45th minute and 10-0 up by the 55th minute, and the closing stages were played with the result long settled. The match had started late, at 7:20 pm IST, after an opening ceremony headlined by Punjabi singer Ninja, and spectators had free entry.
Eight different India players scored in the match. Mandeep Singh, playing in front of a home crowd in Punjab, scored three times. Harmanpreet Singh, Dilpreet Singh and Hardik Singh scored twice each, and Lakra, Abhishek, Nilakanta Sharma and Jugraj Singh added one each.
The evening also had a farewell note. Nilakanta Sharma announced his retirement from international hockey after the match, and Hockey India said this tournament would be his last appearance in the India jersey. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann unveiled the trophy before the match.
Asian Champions Trophy history and format
India are the most successful side in Asian Champions Trophy history, with five titles from 2011, 2016, 2018, 2023 and 2024. The 2018 title was shared with Pakistan after the final was rained off. A win in Punjab in 2026 would give India a third title in a row and a record-extending sixth title overall. The 2026 event is the ninth edition.
The Asian Champions Trophy in 2026 has six teams: India, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China and Bangladesh. Bangladesh came in as a late replacement after Pakistan withdrew, having asked for their matches to be moved to a neutral venue on security grounds, a request Hockey India and the Asian Hockey Federation turned down. Each team plays the other five once in a single round-robin league stage, and the top four teams reach the semi-finals.
India are coached by Craig Fulton for this tournament. Former captain Manpreet Singh was ruled out with a calf injury before the tournament and was replaced in the squad by midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad, according to Hockey India.
What comes next in the Asian Champions Trophy
India’s next match in the Asian Champions Trophy was against China on 29 October 2026 at 7 pm IST, after a rest day on 28 October. India were then due to play Japan, Malaysia and South Korea in the round-robin stage. All league matches were scheduled in Jalandhar until 2 November, before the tournament moved to the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali for the semi-finals on 4 November and the bronze-medal and gold-medal matches on 5 November.
The other results on the opening day showed that the rest of the field would be closer than Bangladesh. Malaysia beat China 5-4, and Japan beat South Korea 3-2. India finished the first day top of the standings with three points and a goal difference of plus 13, level on points with Malaysia and Japan.
International hockey returned to Punjab for this tournament after 17 years, according to RevSportz, and the crowd in Jalandhar waved the Indian tricolour as the goals mounted. The 13-0 win in Jalandhar was a stronger start still, and it set the tone for the defence of a title India have held since 2023.