Five-time champions India began the defence of their Asian Champions Trophy title in devastating style on Tuesday, crushing Bangladesh 13-0 at the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar, with local favourite Mandeep Singh leading the charge with a hat-trick.
The opening match of the men's Asian Champions Trophy 2026 was effectively decided in the first quarter. Captain Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring in the second minute with a powerful flick from a penalty corner, and a minute later Mandeep doubled the lead after receiving a clever pass from the skipper. Mandeep scored again in the 10th minute, and Shilanand Lakra made it 4-0 just before the first quarter ended, as India kept almost all of the play inside Bangladesh's half.
India continued their attacking display in the second quarter, with Abhishek scoring in the 18th minute and Nilakanta Sharma adding another goal in the 26th minute with a superb tomahawk finish from the top of the circle. Despite a few good saves by Bangladesh goalkeeper Ashraful Shad, India went into half-time with a comfortable 6-0 lead, having converted 13 of their 18 shots on target over the course of the match.
The third quarter began at a comparatively measured pace, and India even found themselves frustrated by defensive blocks for a spell. Then the floodgates opened again. Dilpreet Singh struck twice in quick succession, first reacting sharply to a rebound and then finishing a clever Harmanpreet pass with a reverse hit, and the captain followed with another penalty-corner conversion to stretch the advantage to 9-0 heading into the final quarter.
Bangladesh had little respite in the closing stages. Jugraj Singh made it 10 in the 46th minute from a penalty corner, Mandeep completed his hat-trick in the 54th minute after Aditya Lalage delivered a deft pass into the circle, and Hardik Singh struck twice in the final minute, including a close-range finish off a rebound, to complete a comprehensive 13-goal rout on the green turf.
The full list of scorers told the story of a team effort: Harmanpreet Singh in the 2nd and 44th minutes, Mandeep Singh in the 3rd, 10th and 54th, Shilanand Lakra in the 15th, Abhishek in the 18th, Nilakanta Sharma in the 26th, Dilpreet Singh in the 43rd and 44th, Jugraj Singh in the 46th, and Hardik Singh twice in the 60th minute. Eight different Indian players found the net, a breadth of scoring that will encourage the coaching staff as much as the margin itself.
The occasion was about more than the scoreline. The match marked the return of international hockey to Punjab after 17 years, and the home crowd at Jalandhar's Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium turned the opener into a celebration. The highlight of the evening, according to one report, was not even on the field: a drone show featuring 500 drones lit up the night sky with images celebrating the state, its culture and its sporting history.
For Mandeep Singh, the hat-trick on home turf was a personal milestone. The forward from Punjab has been a mainstay of the Indian attack for years, and his three goals, spread across the match, showcased the full range of his finishing: a poacher's instinct in the third minute, a clinical strike in the 10th, and a diving deflection to complete the treble late on.
Harmanpreet's two penalty-corner conversions reaffirmed his status as the world's most feared drag-flicker, while Dilpreet's rapid double and Hardik's late brace underlined the depth of India's forward line.
The result also carried a warning for India's rivals. The Asian Champions Trophy is a six-team tournament, played in Jalandhar and Mohali until November 5, with only the top four teams reaching the semi-finals. India's 13-goal start leaves them top of the table on goal difference after day one, level on three points with Malaysia and Japan, who also won their openers.
Malaysia beat China 5-4 in a thriller, while Japan edged Korea 3-2, results that suggest the tournament will be far more competitive than India's opener implied.
India's own challenge will be to maintain intensity against stronger opposition. Against an opponent that barely challenged them, it would be easy to get carried away, as one analysis noted, and the team's tendency to lose rhythm in patches, as it did in the third quarter before slamming in three goals inside 90 seconds, will be something the coaches examine.
The defending champions cannot afford such lapses against Malaysia, Japan or Korea, all of whom will punish the kind of defensive looseness that Bangladesh could not.
The tournament is being played with free entry for spectators at both venues, a decision by Hockey India designed to pack the stands and reconnect the sport with its heartland. On the evidence of Tuesday night, the strategy is working: a passionate home crowd, a record-equalling start, and a team that looks determined to defend its crown in style.
The scale of the win also reflects the changing geography of Indian hockey. Jalandhar, in the heart of Punjab, has produced generations of hockey players, and the Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium is named after one of the sport's greats. Staging the tournament opener there, rather than in a metropolitan centre, was a deliberate nod to that heritage, and the crowd responded with the kind of knowledgeable, partisan support that players say lifts a home side.
The drone show that followed the match, celebrating the state's culture and sporting history, reinforced the sense that this was a homecoming as much as a tournament opener.
There was also a poignant absence in the Indian camp. Midfielder Manpreet Singh, one of the team's most experienced players, had been ruled out of the tournament with a calf injury before the opener, with Vivek Sagar Prasad named as his replacement.
That India could still produce a 13-0 win without him speaks to the squad's depth, but the coaches will be conscious that tougher matches against Malaysia, Japan and Korea will test that depth far more severely than Bangladesh could.
India will next play China on Thursday, while Bangladesh face Malaysia. For the hosts, the task now is straightforward in concept and demanding in practice: to treat the 13-0 win not as a peak but as a baseline, and to carry the same ruthlessness into matches where the opposition will hit back. If they do, the title defence that began with a rout in Jalandhar could end with a trophy in Mohali.
(Reporting based on The Times of India and Sportstar.)