A goal from Jugraj Singh in the 51st minute ensured that the Indian Men's Hockey Team won the Asian Champions Trophy title, proving too good for host China 1-0 in the final at the lovely Moqi Hockey Training Base, China Daur Ethnic Park, Hulunbuir, on Tuesday.
This makes India the first team to win the title five times, taking five as the record-extending number of titles. India also became the only team to win the title five times when it retained the trophy for the second straight edition after it triumphed in 2023. Prior to this, India had won back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2018.
As a bonus for the team's efforts, Hockey India announced that each member would receive a cash prize of INR 3 lakh and INR 1.5 lakh to each support staff member.
The final both teams hurled themselves to get their rhythm going as early as possible and was soon seeing India's Vivek Sagar Prasad making the first big chance as he slipped into the circle and set up Sukhjeet, who made an audacious shot between his legs to force a swift save from Chinese goalkeeper Wang Weihao. India applied steady pressure in the first quarter, probing for openings, while China adopted a half-court press to counterattack when India's defense was exposed.
The forward line of India, with Rajkumar, Sukhjeet, Nilakanta, and Raheel, kept itself in the contention all along by testing the Chinese defense at regular intervals, while there was a close miss from the captain Harmanpreet Singh on a penalty corner flick. China did show its response with one of its own, but Krishan Pathak was sharp in denying the attempt at the hands of Jiesheng Gao through a penalty corner.
It was an Indian game in the second quarter, looking to slow it down and create their opportunities at Chinese defence which looked pretty compact. Sukhjeet managed to grab another penalty corner deep in the half but Harmanpreet's attempt was again flicked off the post. Benhai Chen launched a counter attack for China which was though soon brought to a stop by Jugraj Singh making a crucial sliding tackle on the ball and the half remained 0-0.
The third quarter was a testing time for India as China mounted pressure. Harmanpreet found Abhishek several times with his passes, but China's defence was calm. They could not convert those occasions into goals. There were two penalty corners for China in the middle of the quarter, but Pathak's reflexes kept the score levelled. China raised the pressure on the Indian defence at the end of the quarter but were not able to break the Indian nerves.
China's Changliang Lin had a couple of reckless forays to the top-left and bottom-right of the circle early in the fourth quarter, but India soon asserted its dominance. India's will eventually paid off as, with just seconds left, Harmanpreet found Jugraj in the circle, who, from the edge of the circle, nicely slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner to give India the lead it so desperately needed.
Chasing the support of the capacity partisan crowd, China sought to go on the hunt for an equalizer and make it an end-to-end finale. India, however, remained composed, modulating possession and running out the clock to earn the 1-0 win and their fifth Hero Asian Champions Trophy title.
Awards
- Player of the Tournament - Harmanpreet Singh - India
- Golden Boot of the Tournament - Yang Jihun - 9 Goals - Korea
- Tournament Promising Goalkeeper - Kim Jaehan - Korea
- Tournament Best Goalkeeper - Wang Caiyu - China
- Tournament Rising Star - Hanan Shahid - Pakistan
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