The Indian hockey team retained their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy title with a 1-0 victory against hosts China in the final at the scenic Moqi Hockey Training Base in the China Daur Ethnic Park, Hulunbuir on Tuesday.
Jugraj Singh scored the only goal in the 51st minute of a tightly contested game to complete their title defence. With this win, India become the most successful team in the competition with five titles.
India looked to peg China back and probe for openings in the first quarter while China employed a half-court press in hopes of hitting India while they are light on defence.
Rajkumar, Sukhjeet, Nilakanta and Raheel went on to test the keeper while Hamrnapreet flicked wide of the post from a penalty corner in the coming minutes. China earned a penalty corner of their own towards the end of the quarter but Jiesheng Gao’s flick was saved by Krishan Pathak in goal.
India slowed down the tempo of the game, patiently looking for a chink in China’s defence in the second quarter but China was up to the test, tracking every run, blocking passing angles and smothering the Indian offence.
Sukhjeet, with three minutes left for halftime, earned a penalty corner but Harmanpreet’s shot bounced off the post. China’s Benhai Chen looked to score on the counter with a minute left but Jugraj Singh executed a brilliantly timed slide tackle to ensure the first half remained goalless.
India looked to step up the intensity in the third quarter but China matched their every step. Harmanpreet attempted pummelling the ball into the circle and found Abhishek on a couple of occasions but failed to bring it under control.
China’s Wenhui E, halfway through the quarter, won a penalty corner on the counter but Pathak was alert to avert the danger. They earned another penalty corner with five minutes left and Krishan Pathak was there to swat the ball out again. China pressed their advantage in search of a goal as the third quarter came to a close but the Indian defence held firm.
Changliang Lin embarked on a couple of dangerous runs to threaten the Indian defence at the start of the final quarter but failed to threaten further as India took control of the game.
With time running out, India initiated waves of unrelenting attacks. It wasn’t long before Harmanpreet Singh, from the baseline, found Jugraj Singh at the centre of the circle who tucked the ball in the right bottom corner of the goal to break the deadlock.
China reacted by pushing up the field, consequentially making the game end to end. However, India stamped their authority on the game, holding and rotating the ball in China’s half to run out the time and seal their 1-0 win against hosts China.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan defeated Korea 5-2 to win a bronze medal in the tournament. They had lost the semifinal 2-0 in shootouts against China on Monday.
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