India come from behind to beat Japan 4–1 and win a record sixth Asian Champions Trophy

India beat Japan 4–1 in the Asian Champions Trophy final at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali on Thursday 5 November, winning a record sixth title and a third in a row. Japan stunned the home crowd when Kazumasa Matsumoto scored in the third minute, and the visitors held their 1–0 lead until half-time. Shilanand Lakra levelled in the 42nd minute, and India then scored three times in the final quarter through Dilpreet Singh in the 48th, Jugraj Singh in the 53rd and Vivek Sagar Prasad in the 54th. The victory was a perfect farewell for midfielder Nilakanta Sharma, who played his last international match after announcing that the tournament would be his final one in the national jersey. India had already beaten Japan by the same 4–1 scoreline in the round-robin stage in Jalandhar.

The win completed an unbeaten campaign of seven wins from seven, after five league victories and an 8–1 semi-final win over South Korea. Malaysia took the bronze medal, beating South Korea 5–2 earlier in the day. India have now won the tournament in 2011, 2016, 2018 — when the title was shared with Pakistan — 2023, 2024 and 2026, three more titles than Pakistan, the next most successful team. Japan are still waiting for a first title after losing their third final, having also finished runners-up in 2013 and 2021. Captain Harmanpreet Singh was named Hero of the Tournament and finished as top scorer with 10 goals, taking his tally of senior international goals to 250, while Krishan Bahadur Pathak was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament. The ninth edition of the tournament ran from 27 October to 5 November, with the league matches in Jalandhar and the semi-finals and medal matches in Mohali.