Asian Champions Trophy 2023: Decoding India's journey in the tournament
India showed tremendous character to come from behind to beat Malaysia 4-3 in a thrilling finale of the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy. The hosts won their fourth title and remained unscathed throughout the tournament. It will indeed be a great morale boost for Craig Fulton's men before the all-important 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. We decode India's journey to the title.
A dominant 7-2 win over China
India started the tournament with a statement 7-2 win over China. Harmanpreet Singh and Varun Kumar scored braces as Fulton's men scored six goals from penalty corners. Sukhjeet Singh, Akashdeep Singh, and Mandeep Singh were the other goal-scorers on the night. Interestingly none of the nine goals were scored in the final quarter. India have a stellar 7-1 head-to-head record against China.
A 1-1 draw against Japan
Flying high from their last win, India received a reality check when they could only manage a 1-1 draw against Japan in the second match. Nagayoshi Ken handed Japan the lead in the 28th minute before Harmanpreet converted a penalty corner to score the equalizer.
A thumping 5-0 retaliation against Malaysia
India came up with a great retaliation as they thumped Malaysia 5-0 in their third match. Local boy Selvam Karthi scored the opener while Harmanpreet, Hardik Singh, Jugraj and Gurjant Singh were the other scorers. India boosted their stunning head-to-head record against Malaysia to 23-7 after this win and also allowed the hosts to get back on top of the tournament standings.
A display of grit and determination against Korea
Many people felt that the big win against Malaysia was the start of something great for India and expected them to crush Korea. But Fulton's men were made to work hard to earn a 3-2 win. Nilakanta Sharma scored the opener while Sunghyun Kim scored the equalizer. Harmanpreet handed the lead and Mandeep added the third. Jihun Yang's goal pulled one back for Korea.
A statement win over arch-rivals Pakistan
India entered the Pakistan game having already qualified for the semi-finals. However, they gave their all to present the fans with a memorable match against their arch-rivals. India won 4-0 as Harmanpreet, Jugraj and Akashdeep were the goal-scorers. Pakistan had a steady start and got a goal cancelled which dented their momentum. India have won 29 out of 60 matches played against them (D6).
India's redemption against Japan in the semi-finals
India were at their dominant best when they met Japan in the semi-finals, crushing them 5-0 to reach their fifth final of the competition. Akashdeep opened the scoring while Harmanpreet, Mandeep, Sumit and Karthi scored for the hosts. PR Sreejesh played his 300th international match for India becoming the first Indian goalkeeper to do so. He was felicitated before the match.
A thrilling comeback against Malaysia in the final
The competition got the finale that it deserved as India came back from 3-1 down at half-time to win 4-3. Jugraj converted a penalty corner to hand India the lead, Abu Azrai equalized within five minutes. Malaysia went ahead by 3-1 when Razie Rahim (15') and Aminuddin Muhamad (18') scored. Harmanpreet and Gurjant scored twice inside a minute (45'), while Akashdeep scored the winner.
The fourth Asian Champions Trophy title for India
India have won the men's Asian Champions Trophy four times, more than any other team. They bagged the inaugural title in 2011 beating Pakistan in the finals. India won the ACT again in 2016 defeating Pakistan again in the title clash. In 2018, India and Pakistan were declared joint winners. With this win, India steered clear of Pakistan (3) with four titles.
A look at the tournament stats
India scored the most goals in the tournament (29). Japan, India, and Korea scored one penalty stroke goal each. Meanwhile, India also bagged the most penalty corner goals (16). A total of 94 goals were scored in the tournament, with 48 field goals, 43 penalty corners, and three penalty stroke goals. Meanwhile, 45 green cards and 18 yellow cards were dished out.
Harmanpreet finished as the top goal-scorer
India's skipper Harmanpreet had a great outing in the six-nation tournament. The 27-year-old penalty corner specialist finished with nine goals in the tournament and all of them were from penalty corners. Pakistan's Muhammad Khan finished second with five goals from six matches.
