New Delhi: For the last couple of years, the Indian men’s hockey team has barely had any competition in Asia.

The only team to medal in the last two Olympics, Harmanpreet Singh and Co breezed past every opposition at the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy. A month later, the world No.5 outfit demolished every team at the Hangzhou Asian Games with huge margins to race away with the gold.

Despite not being in full strength in the Chinese city of Hulunbuir, India still managed to defend their Asian Champions Trophy crown on Tuesday by winning the continental title for the fifth time in eight editions. Only this time, it wasn’t without a fight.

The lowest ranked outfit at No.23 in the six-team competition, China forced India to work hard and go 51 minutes without scoring a goal – something that hadn’t happened before the final – until defender Jugraj Singh (51st) finally converted in the fourth quarter to hand India a 1-0 win.

Though they didn’t start the tournament well, losing three round-robin games including a 0-3 defeat to India in the opener, the hosts grew as the event progressed – beating Malaysia, Japan and Pakistan to qualify for only their second-ever final in international hockey after the 2006 Asian Games summit clash which they lost to South Korea.

Buoyed by a raucous home crowd at the packed Moqi Training Base, an extremely exuberant Chinese outfit attacked and defended as a unit in a contest between the highest and lowest ranked teams in the tournament.

Though India maintained the lion’s share of possession – 84% at half-time – they were not able to break through a very resolute Chinese defence, who man-marked all Indian forwards in the striking circle and immediately adopted a zonal approach the moment they stepped out of the D.

Wang Weihao was brilliant in the goal, not just thwarting four of Harmanpreet’s drag-flicks, but also halting multiple attempts by the Indian forward line led by Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh.

Their midfield and strikers grew in confidence as the match progressed, realising that they had the ability to not just defend well but also the potential to press the Indian defence and mount attacks which yielded them five penalty corners (PC), one more than India.

However, the lack of quality showed in short corners. From poor injections to powerless flicks, the PC chances were all too easy for goalkeepers Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Suraj Karkera to defend against.

India maintained a majority of the possession throughout the match, but the lack of goals led to chief coach Craig Fulton showing his frustration on the sidelines. But Harmanpreet and his team believed that their chance would come.

And it did – from the unlikeliest of sources too. Two defenders and drag-flickers assisted and scored not via a PC but a beautifully constructed field goal.

With only nine minutes left on the clock, Player of the Tournament Harmanpreet decided to try something unconventional. The India skipper, who normally plays as a centre or right back, switched to the left flank during a long corner, to single-handedly bring in the ball inside the striking circle while dodging past three Chinese defenders before passing the ball to Jugraj, who at goalmouth just had to push the ball past Weihao.

Vociferous throughout the match, the crowd started going quiet as the match drew to a close. China coach Yu Seung-jin decided to take off their goalkeeper for an extra field player with less than five minutes left on the clock.

China did manage a couple of circle entries in the final few minutes but the Indian defence was experienced enough to maintain their lead to begin their new Olympic cycle with a title win.

“It was a tough one for us, a good one in the end. We had to work hard. It was a really good fight. Seven games and we played some good hockey, but we just couldn’t score tonight but we got the result in the end,” said India chief coach Craig Fulton.

“It has been a rollercoaster, Paris and what happened there and just eight days with the family. To come here with a young group and some new players, the boys were tired, but we found a way and that’s always the sign of a good team.”

Hockey India announced a cash prize of ₹3 lakh for each player and ₹1.5 lakh for each support staff member.

Earlier, Pakistan beat South Korea 5-2 to win the third-place playoff.

Harmanpreet, Sreejesh nominated

Defender Harmanpreet and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who retired after the Paris Olympics, are the only two Indians to be nominated for the FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2024.

While the India skipper has been nominated for the men’s Player of the Year award along with four others, Sreejesh has made the cut for the men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award.

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