Asian Champions Trophy: India slams 13 past hapless Bangladesh

Harmanpreet Singh drew first blood for India. | Photo Credit: X@TheHockeyIndia For a city hosting its first-ever international hockey tournament, the result of India’s opening match in the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) against Bangladesh was the perfect initiation. But less so for coach Craig Fulton and the team’s long-term plans.With local boys among the scorers and India stamping its authority in the 13-0 win on Tuesday, the result ensured the full house had enough reasons to celebrate. Mandeep Singh — among the five players who began on this very ground of the Olympian Surjit Singh Stadium — struck three of those and created as many.Captain Harmanpreet Singh, another local hero, started the rampage in the second minute and India was up by four in the first 15 minutes and six at half-time. Jarmanpreet Singh and Amit Rohidas, in defence, and Nilakanta Sharma, in the middle, were also impressive. Nilakanta even scored against an opponent that barely challenged the Indian might.Nilakanta, later, announced that he will retire at the end of the tournament.The highlight of the day was the drone show featuring the State, its culture, sporting history and legacy and sparkling under the night sky.The results: India 13 (Harmanpreet Singh 2-pc, 44-pc, Mandeep Singh 3, 10, 54, Shilanand Lakra 15, Abhishek 18, Nilakanta Sharma 26, Dilpreet Singh 43-pc, 44, Jugraj Singh 46-pc, Hardik Singh 60, 60) bt Bangladesh 0; Malaysia 5 (Abu Kamal Azrai 4, 14, Akhimullah Anuar 14, Faizal Saari 34-ps, Azimuddin Kamaruddin 35-pc) bt China 4 (Yaqi Wang 11, Moda Ne 12, Benhai Chen 27-pc, 44-pc); Japan 3 (Kentaro Fukuda 14, Ryoma Ooka 36, Kazumasa Matsumoto 52) bt Korea 2 (Han Sangjun 15, Jeong Junseong 59). Published - October 28, 2026 12:16 am IST