The Indian men’s hockey team, captained by Harmanpreet Singh, rallied back from 1-3 down in the first half to overcome Malaysia 4-3 and claim a record fourth Asian Champions Trophy title in Chennai. Jugraj Singh’s penalty corner effort gave India an early lead in the top showdown at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Saturday evening, before Malaysia levelled it at the end of the first quarter and then struck again in the second to lead by two goals at half-time.
India eventually clawed things back thanks to the skipper’s penalty stroke, but Gurjant Singh equalised in the final minutes of the third quarter. Later, with four minutes remaining, Akashdeep Singh scored the game-winning goal, giving India its first home crown.
Malaysia started the final with an attacking style of hockey that the hosts struggled to handle. Despite the slow start, India took the lead in the ninth minute when Jugraj converted a penlaty corner with a vicious flick to the right of the Malaysian goalie.
The start allowed India to regain their groove as they resorted to full-press hockey, but the visitors kept trying the Indian defence and eventually cracked the code in the 14th minute when Abu Kamal Azari reached the back of the net after being assisted by Azuan Hasan from the right wing.
India had an opportunity to go up in the first quarter, but botched back-to-back penalty corner opportunities.
Japan moves into third place after defeating South Korea 5-3.
Japan finished second to Malaysia in the Asian Champions Trophy event after defeating defending champion South Korea 5-3 in the third-place playoff game in Chennai. Ryoma Ooka (3rd), Ryosei Kato (9th), Kentaro Fukuda (28th), Shota Yamada (53rd), and Ken Nagayoshi (58th) all scored to help the two-time runner-up end on a high note. The Koreans’ goal scorers were Jonghyun Jang (15th and 33rd) and Cheoleon Park (26th).
