The Indian men's hockey team made it a hat trick of Asian Champions League titles after beating Japan 4-1 in the final at Mohali's Olympian Balbir Singh International Hockey Stadium on Thursday.
After winning the titles in 2023 and 2024, India showed their dominance again, winning all their games in both Jalandhar and Mohali.
Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad scored for India while Kazumasa Matsumoto added a goal for Japan.
Despite the scoreline, the final was a tense affair for the home team as they fell behind early in the first quarter. Matsumoto found some space on the left side and came up with a thundering reverse hit to beat Suraj Karkera and give his team the lead in the third minute.
After going behind, India tried to turn it around but were left frustrated with some solid defending by Japan. They won crucial tackles inside the circle and ensured they don't make any mistakes.
It was in the 42nd minute that India found their equaliser. Harmanpreet went for a penalty corner variation, which was saved by goalkeeper Kisho Kuroda but India regained control of the ball and eventually Shilanand converted from a close range after a lovely flick pass by Aditya Lalage.
Japan were not happy with it as they thought the pass from Aditya was raised high enough to be dangerous, The TV umpire stayed with the on field call and the goal was given.
In the final quarter, it was all India. Dilpreet scored the second in the 48th minute , a lovely finish after Hardik Singh did all the hard work of controlling the ball and giving the right pass. Five minutes later, Jugraj converted his penalty corner chance, a powerful dragflick to make it 3-1.
The final goal was scored by Vivek in the 54th minute, which was another smashing finish on a half volley. The initial shot from Shilanand was saved but Vivek arrived quickly and brilliantly executed his shot.
Japan tried their best in the remaining minutes, but it was too tough for them to turn it around. As India won their sixth title, Japan once again failed to win their first.
Earlier in the day, Malaysia beat South Korea 5-2 to finish third in the tournament.
You can relive all the action on our live blog below: