Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored a brilliant hat-trick as India defeated Malaysia 4-2 to register their fourth consecutive victory in the Asian Champions Trophy 2026 at Jalandhar’s Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
Harmanpreet opened the scoring in the third minute with a penalty-corner conversion before adding another in the 33rd minute. He completed his hat-trick in the 58th minute by converting a penalty stroke. Sukhjeet Singh also scored in the 43rd minute to help India secure the victory. Malaysia responded through Akhimullah Anuar (25′), who converted a penalty corner, and Shello Silverius (60′), but could not prevent defeat.
Harmanpreet was named Player of the Match and now leads the tournament scoring chart with eight goals. India’s victory was particularly significant as both teams entered the contest unbeaten after winning their opening three matches. The defending champions have now secured 12 points from four games and confirmed their place in the semifinals.
Malaysia remain second with nine points, while Japan and South Korea have also qualified for the last four.