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Men's Hockey Asian Champions Trophy

Asian Champions Trophy 2023: What went right for India in their record fourth title win

Published at :August 13, 2023 at 5:47 PM
Modified at :January 13, 2024 at 7:55 PM
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(Courtesy : Hockey India)

Anmol Kakkar

The Men in Blue cameback from two goals down to beat Malaysia in the final.

India on Sunday defeated Malaysia 4-3 to clinch the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2023 title, their fourth ACT title. The Indian men’s hockey team made a remarkable comeback from two goals behind to score thrice in the final two quarters and clinch the title.

The Men in Blue started their tournament on high defeating China 7-2 to win their first match of the tournament. However, they faced a huge setback in their second game after they were held by the reigning Asian Games champions Japan. Indian created several chances against Japan but couldn’t convert it. Japan scored an early goal to put pressure on India just before half-time.

In the dying minutes of the third quarter, India skipper Harmanpreet Singh stood up and scored the equalizer for their team. After this setback, the Indian team never looked back. They defeated Malaysia (5-0), Korea (3-2), and the arch-rival Pakistan (4-0) to top the group.

In the semi-final against Japan, India started with caution and after a goalless first quarter, the Men in Blue turned their gears and completely outplayed Japan with their attacking display and defeated them 5-0 to book a final date with Malaysia.

In the Final, India started well and got an early lead through Jugraj Singh’s amazing drag-flick. However, India couldn’t maintain the lead for much longer as Malaysia soon equalised and then scored twice in the second quarter to go 3-1 ahead before the half-time break.

Post half-time, India changed its gears while Malaysia started defending deep. As a result, India scored back-to-back goals towards the end of the third quarter to make it all square. A Brillant run by Sukhjeet helped India earn a penalty stroke and soon after that, Harmanpreet’s brilliant pass ended in Gurjant Singh scoring the equaliser. In the final quarter, India continued with their momentum with Akashdeep scoring the winning goal.

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What worked well for India in Asian Champions Trophy 2023?

Unbeaten Run

India finished the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 tournament unbeaten and outplayed their opposition. While India failed to beat Japan in the group stages, they defeated the Samurai comfortably in the semi-finals. The Men in Blue just trailed twice in the whole tournament. India also scored a whooping 29 Goals (most by any team) and conceded just nine Goals (the least by any team).

With Asian Games around the corner, this will be a huge confidence booster for the team.

Form of experienced players

Harmanpreet Singh, who finished as the highest scorer in the tournament, was in great form and so were Manpreet Singh and Amit Rohidas. The veterans stepped up when the team needed them the most. Amit was as usual brilliant as the first rusher while defending penalty corners, while Manpreet played some brilliant hockey along with Harmanpreet Singh.

Multiple penalty corner specialists

Before the Asian Champions Trophy 2023, India were looking for a penalty corner specialist apart from Harmanpreet. In this tournament, Jugraj Singh (3 goals) and Varun Kumar (2 Goals) scored from PCs as well as India tested new people for the Penalty Corner. That lightened the load for Harmanpreet.

Mandeep Singh and Selvam Karthi defended Well

Experienced Mandeep Singh, who was named the Player of the Tournament, defended well and didn’t let the opposition pressure the Indian defence.

India have found a new youngster in Karthi Selvam, who was fantastic throughout the tournament. Karthi, who is a forward also turned up in defence. He also scored a fantastic goal in front of the home crowd against Malaysia in the Pool stage. Overall, he also defended well and made a massive impact in the final.

Manpreet’s transition from defender to midfielder under Craig Fulton

Manpreet Singh, who is the household name for fans of Indian hockey, has changed his role under Craig Fulton. The former Indian captain started his career as a defender and then moved to midfield and after Fulton took over played in the defence for the initial few matches before shifting to midfield yet again.

This move was a success as Manpreet played a key role as a midfielder helping the defence also perform well as a unit in the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 as compared to the FIH Pro League.

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What next for Indian men’s hockey team

After the Brillant run, India’s next assignment will be the Asian Games, which is very important for the Olympic qualification. India would look to earn a direct spot at the Olympics by winning the Asian games and would want to avoid playing the Olympic qualifiers. They would look to continue their momentum after winning the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 and would again want to shine at the Asian Games in Hangzhou later this year.

However, Akashdeep form is a concern as he has missed many chances in the tournament. Though he stepped up in the crucial stages of the final still overall his performance was a bit poor. Same with the case of Lalit and Gurjant. With the Asian games around the corner, these players have to bring their A games soon as India wouldn’t want any loopholes that can destroy their chances.

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