Captain Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh emerged as match winners as the Indian hockey team registered a 5-2 win over the People’s Republic of China in its second outing of the Asian Champions Trophy 2026 on Thursday.
Sukhjeet Singh (12′, 34′) and captain Harmanpreet Singh (27′, 31′) scored twice each at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar while Jugraj Singh (47′) also sounded the board.
Yang Peng (26′) and Chen Chongcong (36′) scored for China.
On the hunt for a record-extending sixth Asian Champions Trophy hockey title, India, who had opened their campaign with a 13-0 win over Bangladesh, found themselves up against a much tougher opponent on Thursday.
The visitors showed intent early on, with Zhang Jialiang collecting an aerial ball and making an early circle entry. India responded through a strong run by Hardik Singh, while Mandeep Singh also tried his luck after Amandeep Lakra’s diagonal pass into the circle.
Defending champions India found the breakthrough in the 12th minute through a superb finish from Sukhjeet. He brought down a long aerial pass from Jugraj, took a couple of touches and lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper Wu Huanyu from a difficult angle to give India the lead.
China threatened to draw level in the 14th minute, but Suraj Karkera made two quick saves to keep India ahead.
The visitors defended in numbers and limited India’s space in the second quarter. Yang Peng levelled the score from a penalty corner in the 26th minute, but India restored the lead almost immediately when Harmanpreet converted a penalty corner with a powerful drag-flick.
China had another penalty corner before the break, but Amit Rohidas blocked the first effort and the second did not produce a clear shot.
India went into half-time leading 2-1, having been made to work for their chances against China’s compact defence.
India began the third quarter on the front foot and Harmanpreet converted another penalty corner in the 31st minute to extend India’s lead to 3-1.
Three minutes later, Sukhjeet scored his second goal of the match after the captain’s aerial pass was controlled by Aditya Lalage, who cut the ball back for the forward to finish.
China responded through Chen Chongcong, who converted a penalty corner in the 36th minute to make it 4-2.
China enjoyed periods of quick, fluid play, but India were the dominant side overall.
India continued to look for goals in the final quarter. Jugraj scored from a penalty corner in the 47th minute, sounding the board with a crisp flick.
India earned another penalty corner late in the match after Angad Bir Singh was brought down while entering the circle from the left. China unsuccessfully appealed the decision but goalkeeper Wu Huanyu produced a fine stretching save with his right foot to deny Harmanpreet a hat-trick.
In the other hockey matches on Thursday, Malaysia beat the Republic of Korea 3-1, while Japan edged Bangladesh 1-0.
India moved to the top of the standings with six points from two matches and a goal difference of +16.
Malaysia and Japan also have six points, with goal differences of +3 and +2 respectively. South Korea, China and Bangladesh are yet to register a point after two defeats each.
India will next face Japan in their next Asian Champions Trophy 2026 match on Friday.
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/asian-champions-trophy-2026-hockey-india-vs-china-report
