Unbeaten India will seek a place in their seventh Asian Champions Trophy final when they face South Korea on Wednesday, having won all five league matches and scored a tournament-high 34 goals.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh, the competition’s leading scorer with nine goals, will spearhead India’s challenge in the 7 p.m. semi-final at Mohali’s Olympian Balbir Singh Senior Hockey Stadium, which will host its first international match.
Japan will take on Malaysia in the other semi-final at 4:30 p.m., while China and Bangladesh will contest the fifth-place playoff at 2 p.m. The final is scheduled for November 5.
India topped the six-team league standings after winning all five matches played at Jalandhar’s Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium. Japan finished second, followed by Malaysia, South Korea, China and Bangladesh.
India have been the tournament’s most prolific side, scoring 34 goals, twice Malaysia’s tally of 17. South Korea and China have scored 10 each, while Japan have nine.
Harmanpreet leads the individual scoring charts with nine goals, followed by Malaysia’s Abu Kamal Azrai with five. India’s Dilpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh have scored four goals each.
India, who have won the title five times, including one shared championship, have reached six finals in the previous eight editions.
South Korea are the only other former champions among the semi-finalists, having won the tournament once. Japan have finished runners-up twice and Malaysia once.
Japan enter the semi-finals with three wins and a draw from the league stage, while Malaysia recorded three victories and South Korea two.
The knockout matches will also mark the international debut of Mohali’s Olympian Balbir Singh Senior Hockey Stadium.
“The Olympian Balbir Singh Senior Hockey Stadium will mark its presence on the international hockey map,” the Punjab government’s Information and Public Relations Department said in a statement.
The tournament began in Jalandhar on October 27 before shifting to Mohali for the knockout stage.
The semi-final winners will meet in Thursday’s final, while the losing teams will compete for the bronze medal.