The Indian men’s hockey team successfully defended their Asian Champions Trophy title, securing a hard-fought 1-0 win against host China in the final held at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China. Jugraj Singh’s crucial goal in the 51st minute clinched the victory, making India the most successful team in the tournament’s history with a record five titles.
This win marks India’s second consecutive trophy defense after their 2023 triumph, following previous back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2018.
Following the victory, Hockey India announced a cash reward of INR 3 lakhs for each player and INR 1.5 lakhs for each member of the support staff. The final was a tight contest, with both teams struggling to find their rhythm early on. India’s Vivek created the first big opportunity, setting up Sukhjeet, whose creative between-the-legs shot was swiftly saved by China’s goalkeeper, Wang Weihao.
India maintained steady pressure throughout the first quarter, looking for openings, while China employed a half-court press to launch counterattacks whenever India’s defense was vulnerable.
India’s forwards, including Rajkumar, Sukhjeet, Nilakanta, and Raheel, kept testing the Chinese defense, with captain Harmanpreet Singh narrowly missing a penalty corner flick. China also earned a penalty corner, but Krishan Pathak made a sharp save to block Jiesheng Gao’s shot.
The third quarter saw India increase their intensity, but China’s defense held firm. Harmanpreet’s passes frequently found Abhishek, though they were unable to convert these chances into goals.
China’s Changliang Lin made a few threatening runs early in the fourth quarter, but India quickly regained control. Their persistence was rewarded when, as time began to run out, Harmanpreet set up Jugraj in the circle, and he skillfully fired the ball into the bottom-right corner to score the winning goal.