Asian Champions Trophy Day 3: India Go Top, Malaysia Stay Perfect, Korea Finally Win
Friday in Jalandhar did what the first two days only hinted at. It split the table in half. Malaysia and India are on nine points, Japan are on six, Korea finally have three, and China and Bangladesh are still waiting for their first point.
Start with the early game, because Malaysia are quietly turning into the team nobody wants to meet. They beat Bangladesh 6-1 in the opener, their third straight win, and they did it without ever looking troubled. Fourteen goals scored in three games, six conceded, and a record that keeps them right in the hunt for top spot.
The middle game was the day’s real story. China led Korea 1-0 at half time, and for a while it looked like the 2024 runners-up were finally going to get off the mark. Korea had other ideas. They turned it around in the second half and won 2-1, their first points of the tournament, and suddenly the race for the top four has a new shape. China, meanwhile, have now lost three from three. A side that reached the last final is staring at an early exit unless Sunday against Japan goes their way.
Then the late game, the one everyone came for. India beat Japan 4-1 in front of a packed, loud Jalandhar crowd, and it was harder than the score makes it look. Japan kept India out through long stretches of the second half, and it took a Harmanpreet Singh penalty corner in the 46th minute to break the game open. Abhishek scored twice and took the player of the match award, and India’s winning run in this tournament just keeps rolling on.
So after three days, the table reads like this. India top on nine points with a goal difference of plus nineteen after scoring twenty-two goals in three games. Malaysia second, also on nine, with a goal difference of plus eight. Japan third on six, Korea fourth on three, China fifth on zero with a goal difference of minus five, and Bangladesh bottom on zero, minus nineteen.
Saturday is a rest day, which is just as well. Everybody needs a breath before Sunday, when Malaysia play India in the late game. That one decides who goes into the final round on top, and after Friday, it feels like the whole tournament has been building towards it.
Related:
- https://sportscursor.com/malaysia-6-1-bangladesh-asian-champions-trophy-third-win-30-october-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/asian-champions-trophy-table-day2-three-teams-six-points-29-october-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/asian-champions-trophy-sunday-card-malaysia-india-korea-bangladesh-china-japan-1-november-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/live/
- https://sportscursor.com/latest-news/
