India made a spectacular start to their Asian Champions Trophy 2026 title defence, defeating Bangladesh 13-0 at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar on Tuesday.
Playing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, the five-time champions delivered a commanding performance, with Mandeep Singh scoring a hat-trick and several senior players contributing to the emphatic victory.
Mandeep Singh was among the standout performers, finding the net three times to complete a brilliant hat-trick.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh and Dilpreet Singh scored two goals each. Abhishek, Shilanand Lakra, Jugraj Singh and Nilakanta Sharma added one goal apiece.
Bangladesh attempted a few counter-attacks but struggled to challenge India’s defence and goalkeeping throughout the match.
The match also marked an emotional moment for Indian hockey as midfielder Nilakanta Sharma announced that he would retire from international hockey after the tournament.
The Manipuri player has been an important part of India’s team for nearly a decade. His achievements include being part of the Indian side that won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and gold at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
India’s Asian Games victory also secured qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The opening day’s other matches produced competitive encounters:
- Malaysia defeated China 5-4 in a high-scoring match.
- Japan beat South Korea 3-2.
India will face China on October 29 as they continue their campaign.
The tournament is being hosted across two venues in Punjab:
- Jalandhar: League-stage matches from October 27 to November 2.
- Mohali: Semi-finals on November 4, followed by the bronze-medal and final matches on November 5.
The participating teams are India, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China and Bangladesh. Bangladesh replaced Pakistan after the latter withdrew from the competition.
