Asian Champions Trophy: Indian men's hockey team thumps Malaysia 5-0
The Indian men's hockey team return to winning ways in style as they trounced Malaysia 5-0 in the third match of the Asian Champions Trophy at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai. Spirits were dented after their 1-1 draw against Japan in the last game but the hosts have retaliated with a five-star performance. The Harmanpreet Singh-led side continued its unbeaten run.
How did the match pan out?
It was local boy Karthi Selvam who handed India the lead in the 15th minute. Later, Hardik Singh doubled the lead via a penalty corner. Similarly, Harmanpreet added the third in the 42nd minute. Gurjant Singh made it 4-0 with a great field goal in the 53rd minute. Lastly, Jugraj Singh scored from a penalty corner to pile up the misery on the Malaysians.
A look at the head-to-head record
With this win, India have defeated Malaysia a total of 23 times. While the latter have emerged victorious seven times with other four games ending in draws. Their last meeting happened on the 2022 Asia Cup where the teams shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw. India are unbeaten against Malaysia in the last 10 fixtures. They were last beaten back in 2017.
India go back on top, will face Korea next
The hosts have roared their way back to the top of the table, having earned seven points from two wins and a draw. Malaysia are second with six points, while Korea are the only other unbeaten team with five points. India will go up against Korea on August 7 (Monday). The latter played a 1-1 draw against China earlier today.
