India produced a performance of breathtaking dominance on Wednesday, thrashing South Korea 8-1 in the semi-final of the men's Asian Champions Trophy to storm into the final, where they will face Japan for the title.
The victory at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali continued an unbeaten campaign by the defending champions and five-time winners, who have now scored sixteen goals against the same opponents in two meetings in the space of a few days.
The scoreline was emphatic, but the manner of it was just as striking. India had already beaten South Korea 8-0 in their final league-stage match, and there was no repeat of the surprise that Korea produced the last time they beat India, in the 2019 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final, when they prevailed in a shootout. This time, there was no shock. India were ahead early, in control by half-time, and relentless until the final hooter, in front of a loud and celebratory home crowd.
Shilanand Lakra and Dilpreet Singh scored two goals each, while captain Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Angad Bir Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad added one apiece. Lakra opened the scoring in the fourth minute and struck again in the 13th minute, giving India a flying start that set the tone for everything that followed.
Harmanpreet, the captain and the tournament's most feared drag-flicker, doubled the advantage with a powerful penalty-corner conversion in the ninth minute, a goal that was his tenth of the tournament. Sukhjeet and Dilpreet both found the net in the 21st minute, and Dilpreet struck again in the 25th minute, by which point the contest was effectively over as a competition, even though there was still plenty of hockey left to play.
South Korea's only goal came from Sangjun Han in the ninth minute, a brief moment of resistance in a match that otherwise belonged entirely to the hosts. Angad Bir Singh added India's seventh goal in the 36th minute, and Vivek Sagar Prasad completed the scoring in the 54th minute, sealing an 8-1 triumph that sent the packed stands into celebration, with fireworks lighting up the Mohali venue at the end.
Dilpreet Singh, whose two goals and all-round attacking play stood out, was named Player of the Match.
The result takes India into the final for a record-extending seventh time. They have won the Asian Champions Trophy five times before, in 2011, 2016, 2018 when the title was shared, 2023 and 2024, and finished runners-up in 2012. Now they stand one win away from a record-extending sixth title, a prize that would further underline their status as the most successful team in the tournament's history.
The final, scheduled for 7 pm on Thursday in Mohali, will be against Japan, who reached the title clash by beating Malaysia 5-3 in a penalty shootout after the first semi-final of the day ended goalless through sixty minutes of regulation time. Japan converted all five of their shootout attempts to book their place.
The final will carry a special personal significance for Hardik Singh, who is set to play his 200th international match in the title clash. The milestone is made sweeter by the venue: it was at this very stadium that Hardik once worked as a ball boy during the inaugural Hockey India League season in 2013.
From fetching balls on the sidelines to playing his 200th match for his country in a continental final at the same ground, his journey captures something of the romance of Indian hockey, a sport in which dreams are often built slowly, from the humblest of beginnings.
India's campaign so far has been close to flawless. The five-time champions finished the league stage unbeaten with five wins from five matches, and they have carried that form into the knockout rounds without missing a beat. The semi-final was India's first international match at the Mohali stadium, and the team marked the occasion in style.
The attacking numbers tell their own story: eight goals in the semi-final, eight in the final league match against the same opponents, and a captain in Harmanpreet Singh who has reached ten goals for the tournament, a remarkable tally for a defender, even one as gifted as him.
There are, however, reasons for India to guard against complacency before the final. Japan are not in the title match by accident. They held Malaysia scoreless through regulation time in their semi-final and then held their nerve perfectly in the shootout, converting all five attempts.
A team that defends that resolutely and handles pressure that calmly is a dangerous opponent in a one-off final, whatever the form book says. Finals, as every hockey player knows, have a habit of ignoring previous results, and Japan will believe that a single inspired performance can undo weeks of Indian dominance.
That said, India will start as clear favourites, and rightly so. The hosts have combined attacking firepower with defensive solidity throughout the tournament, they have the crowd behind them, and they have players in form across the pitch, from Harmanpreet's penalty-corner weapon to the pace and finishing of Lakra and Dilpreet.
The challenge for the coaching staff will be to keep the players focused on the job rather than the occasion, and to ensure that the celebrations of Wednesday night do not spill into Thursday evening's preparation.
For Indian hockey, the wider picture is encouraging. The sport has been on an upward path in recent years, with Olympic medals restoring its place in the national conversation and a growing domestic structure feeding talent into the national team. A sixth Asian Champions Trophy title, won at home, would be another marker of that progress, and it would send the team into future assignments with confidence high.
The tournament, played under the banner of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026, has also showcased the depth of Indian hockey's support, with packed stands and a vibrant atmosphere in Mohali.
The final against Japan, then, is about more than one trophy, though the trophy itself matters plenty. It is a chance for this Indian team to confirm what the rest of the tournament has suggested: that they are, on current form, the dominant force in Asian hockey, and that their dominance is built not on one or two stars but on a squad that can score from everywhere, defend as a unit, and rise to the big occasion. South Korea discovered that the hard way on Wednesday.
Japan will have to find an answer on Thursday evening, and on the evidence of this week, answers have been in very short supply.
(Reporting based on The Times of India, Press Trust of India and The Tribune.)