India beat Malaysia in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy. (PHOTO: Hockey India)Asian Champions Trophy Final, India vs Malaysia Highlights: India managed to come back from a 1-3 deficit to defeat Malaysia by a 4-3 margin in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.
For India, Jugraj Singh (ninth minute PC), Harmanpreet Singh (45′, penalty stroke), Gurjant Singh (45′) and Akashdeep Singh (56′) were on the scoreboard. The two goals India scored at teh end of the third quarter turned the game around.
India have thumped Japan 5-0 in the semifinals, while Malaysia hammered South Korea 6-2. In the round-robin league, India had blanked Malaysia 5-0.
It was as close to a complete performance as they come for India in the semifinal against Japan. While the defence did not give anything away – India did not concede even one penalty corner, allowed Japan to enter their ‘D’ only 8 times and let just 1 shot on goal – the attackers were at their imaginative best.
There were five different goal scorers and four field goals, with each being better than the previous; a show of patience, skill, creativity and audacity.
For all the highlights, scroll down
India's Jugraj Singh, second left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's third goal during the men's Asian Champions Trophy hockey match between India and Pakistan in Chennai, India, Wednesday. (AP | PTI)
"This is the Indian way! We knew we needed to keep patience (when they were trailing 1-3)! We're going to focus on the Asian Games now!" says Hardik!
He adds his parents are in the stands and that makes this moment special for him personally.
India's Karthi Selvam!
The Chennai youngster wins the award in front of home fans.
What a comeback from the Indians. They were 1-3 down late in the third quarter and were looking deflated.
But then, they scored two goals in the space of a few seconds to draw level just before third quarter ended.
Remember when India were 1-3 down late in the third quarter?!?!?!
Akashdeep Singh gives India the lead with less than five minutes left. He gets the ball in the circle with his back to the goal. There are two defenders on him. Never mind! He turns and slaps the ball home!
With 5:33 left in the game, India earn a PC. Harman's managed to confuse the Malaysian rushers. But his shot is wide off the goal!
Shamsher earns India a PC with 6:30 minutes left. He makes a solo run from the right flank and hustles the ball between two defenders who eventually foul him.
Malaysian keeper kicks out Harman's low flick with his right foot to keep the scores at 3-3.
India break free and counter-attack in numbers with just over eight minutes left in the game.
Sukhjeet gets the ball in the circle, and tries to push the ball past the keeper. He's off balance as he tries to tomahawk his shot into the goal. Karthi was alone on the left, unmarked. Sukhjeet errs in not passing!
Still 3-3.
Malaysia earn a PC with 10 minutes left in the game. Once again, it's Amit Rohidas who thwarts the shot with great rushing!
The fourth quarter starts!
WHAT DRAMA!!! India are level at 3-3
The bal ping pongs around in the Malaysian circle before Gurjant slams it home!
In the matter of seconds India have clawed back into the game. The scoreline is level with one full quarter of hockey left!
India score off a stroke after Gurjant is brought down in the circle! it was Nilkanta who set that attack up for Gurjant. Harman takes the stroke and makes no error.
Barely a minute left on the clock and India are one goal behind!
Malaysia have a PC. Amit Rohidas blocks and India are off! Three attackers against two defenders and a keeper. But Malaysia survive!
Just under three minutes left in Q3, and Indians starting to feel the pressure. Akashdeep has miscontrolled the ball twice now in the span of a minute. Both times inside the Indian circle. That's costly!
Captain Harmanpreet Singh was given rest at the start of Q3, and is now on the pitch. They're likely to play him for all the rest of the game now as they chase at least two goals,
With seven minutes left in Q3, the Malaysians realising that they just need to hang on to the advantage rather than pressing for more goals. They're taking their time on the ball. And making rare forays from the left channel.
Karthi Selvam bursts into the circle from the right flank with just over nine minutes left in Q3. His flashes a shot, but the Malaysian keeper kicks it out.
India break into the circle. Gurjant crosses from the left flank. There are three Indians in the circle, the ball misses everyone.
India have a penalty corner early in the second half, but Harman's flick hits the stick of a Malaysian rusher. The Indians are starting to sweat now.
India are chasing. They have just 30 minutes to score three goals.
India had 56 per cent possession and nine circle entries to Malaysia's seven. But Malaysians scored thrice!
The Chennai crowd are stunned. malaysia are going in to the half-time break with a two-goal advantage. WOW! Who saw that coming?
Malaysia earn another penalty corner. And they push the flick past Sreejesh! It's a goal!
It's Aminudin who pushes the dragflick low to the right-hand corner. Sreejesh's right foot doesn't get to the ball in time.
The officials check if the ball was stopped properly during the injection. It was. The goal will stand!
Two-goal advantage for Malaysia.
Malaysia's Hasan picks up a green card with a silly tackle. They will play the next two minutes with 10 players. And moments later, Sukhjeet picks up a green as well by running head-first into a Malaysian player. Both teams down a man temporarily i nthe second quarter.
With just under 10 minutes left in the first half, India are starting to attack with vigour. The Indians attack the Malaysian citadel with numbers. Vivek Sagar Prasad sees a chance to freely swing his stick and he shoots a stinger towards the goal. It's blocked!
That was a close one.
As the second quarter starts, India playing with a low block. But they are playing very sloppy hockey, spraying the ball around. One such careless ball finds the stick of a Malaysian player in the circle, and they manage to force a PC. India review because they believe the ball hit the back stick. But India lose the referral. PC stands.
The first PC is thwarted by the Indians. The second one, by Razie Rahim, takes a deflection off Amit Rohidas and goes past Sreejesh. Nothing he could have done nothing there!
Malaysia are ahead!
With just over a minute left on the clock for the end of Q1, Amit Rohidas puts Saari on the ground. The Indian defenders hesistate, but Hasan picks up the ball and rushes towards the Indian goal. He passes to Kamal Abu, who loops the ball over Krishan Pathak.
Malaysia draw level! How crucial is this goal!
India get a penalty corner with seven minutes left on the clock in the first quarter. With Harman off the pitch, the ball goes to Jugraj Singh. There are two rushers headed for him, but they're almost in a straight line. Jugraj's flick is on the right of the keeper and in goal!!
If Harman doesn't get you, Jugraj will.
After soaking up the pressure for the first few minutes of the game, India are starting ot assert themselves.
Still over 10 minutes left in the first quarter, and there is another circle penetration for Malaysia.
The ball is slapped in, and Jugraj and Harmanpreet run towards the ball but both let it pass between them. Unfortunately for Mayalsia, Saari cannot get to the ball.
With just over a minute gone in the match, Malaysia have their first chance. They break into the Indian box from the left flank and with teammate Saari standing unmarked, K Abu beats Jarmanpreet and decides to try his luck. The ball flies wide. That was close!
And we have a bit of a false start to begin with. But finally we start!
In the first-edition of the men's Asian Champions Trophy hockey, it was India who defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in an intense final that ended with a penalty shoot-out. This means India were the first winners of the men’s Asian Champions Trophy.
We're minutes away from a mouth-watering contest.
"We have done well to get to final. We played good hockey in semis. The beauty of high-performance sport is now we have to do it once again. We'll take nothing for granted. We have to put our stamp on the geame and play our style of hockey."
Malaysia coach before the game: "We enjoy playing India. We want to play top teams in the world, teams like India. So this will be a good one."
Both sides have played each other 34 times.
In that, India has won 23 times, with Malaysia winning seven. Four matches were draws.
Hosts India beat Asian Games gold medallists Japan 5-0 in the semifinals of the Asian Champions Trophy to set up a title clash on Saturday with Malaysia, who thumped South Korea 6-2 in the other semifinal.
The first Asian Champions Trophy hockey was held in Busan in 2010. Back in the day, it was a women’s-only event. Only the top four teams of Asia -- Japan, India, South Korea and China -- competed in the first edition, which was won by hosts South Korea. India finished third.
A men’s tournament consequently started in 2011.
India captain Harmanpreet Singh has been in stellar form in this tournament, scoring eight goals, the highest in the tournament so far.
India will have high hopes from the drag-flick specialist in the final as well.
In the fight between the losing semi-finalists, Japan wins 5-3 against Korea.
Now all eyes will be on the finale.
India: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Varun Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh.
Malaysia: Hafizuddin Othman, Mujahir Abdu, Marhan Jalil, Ashran Hamsami, Faizal Saari, Razie Rahim, Faiz Jali, Azuan Hasan, Abu Kamal Azrai, Najmi Jazlan, Amirul Azahar.
In a sudden U-turn, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Friday announced that it has abandoned trials for a proposed rule change to penalty corners.
The change of heart comes after the world body received criticism from several quarters for tinkering with an integral aspect of the game. However, while announcing the suspension of the trials, FIH president Tayyab Ikram said there was ‘no pressure or concrete feedback’ from national federations.
“The FIH has decided to put on hold or even abandon the new penalty corner trial. The format we proposed before, we will not consider for trial. We will deliberate on further options but we are in big favour to keep the penalty corner in the same format,” Ikram said on the sidelines of the Asian Champions Trophy semifinals.
“If we change it, it will be around the same format with more dynamic ways. In any case, we will not compromise on any measures which will lead to dangerous play and challenge the safety of our athletes. That’s something we want to ensure,” Ikram added.
Earlier this month, the FIH had announced it would test a proposed rule between now and May 2024 that, during a penalty corner, all attackers except the pusher at the backline would have had to start at least 5 metres outside the striking circle. The ball must travel outside the 5m dotted line — which is beyond the 'D' — before it can be played back into the ‘D’ for a shot on goal.
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From resembling the great Klopp-coached gegenpressing sides, India’s hockey team is fast transitioning into Mourinho-esque mid-block masters. And if the high press had its own magnetic allure, the half-court is no less captivating.
The tactical tweak, the think-tank hopes, will give players a chance to exploit the full range of their counter-attacking prowess while also making the defence strong without necessarily being too defensive.
“It's more about setting yourself up for counterattacks, where you try to draw the opposition out a little bit,” India coach Craig Fulton said.
In doing so, the South African is tinkering with long-held ethos in Indian hockey, where teams across age groups played in a manner that involved a high, aggressive press to pressurise the opponents, block outlets, steal possession deep in their own half and mount an attack on their goal.
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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Asian Champions Trophy final. Hosts India will take on Malaysia in the final in what promises to be a mouth-watering encounter.