Jalandhar, October 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Sukhjeet Singh and captain Harmanpreet Singh scored twice each as defending champions India defeated China 5-2 to register their second consecutive victory in the Asian Champions Trophy 2026 at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar on Thursday.
Player-of-the-Match Sukhjeet struck in the 12th and 34th minutes, while Harmanpreet converted penalty corners in the 27th and 31st minutes. Jugraj Singh added India’s fifth goal in the 47th minute. Yang Peng and Chen Chongcong scored for China in the 26th and 36th minutes respectively.
After opening their campaign with a 13-0 win over Bangladesh, India faced a more organised Chinese side that defended in numbers and restricted the hosts’ attacking space.
India took the lead through a brilliant individual finish from Sukhjeet, who controlled Jugraj’s long aerial pass before lifting the ball over advancing goalkeeper Wu Huanyu from a difficult angle. Goalkeeper Suraj Karkera then made two important saves to preserve India’s advantage.
China equalised through Yang Peng’s penalty corner, but Harmanpreet responded almost immediately with a powerful drag-flick to restore India’s lead before half-time.
India strengthened their position after the break as Harmanpreet scored another penalty-corner goal. Sukhjeet then completed his brace, finishing after Aditya Arjun Lalage controlled the captain’s aerial pass and cut the ball back into the attacking area. Chen Chongcong reduced the deficit with China’s second penalty-corner goal.
Jugraj sealed the result with a crisp penalty-corner conversion in the final quarter. Harmanpreet came close to completing a hat-trick, but Wu Huanyu produced a stretching save to deny him.
India moved to the top of the standings with six points and a goal difference of +16. Malaysia and Japan also have six points, with goal differences of +3 and +2 respectively. Malaysia defeated South Korea 3-1, while Japan edged Bangladesh 1-0 in the other matches.
India will face Japan on Friday, October 30, at 7 pm IST in Jalandhar. The six-team tournament follows a single round-robin format, with the top four advancing to the semi-finals. The league stage runs until November 2, followed by the semi-finals in Mohali on November 4 and the medal matches on November 5.
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