How has India fared at previous Asian Champions Trophy editions?

The Men in Blue have historically performed well in the competition.

India have had a strong start to the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2021. After a frustrating 2-2 draw in the opener Vs South Korea, the Men in Blue came back with a huge 9-0 win against Bangladesh. The biggest victory however, came against arch-rivals Pakistan, when they beat them by a score of 3-1. They are thus still unbeaten in the tournament.

India's performance in the previous editions of the Champions Trophy has been good. The outfit performs usually well in the Asian circuit and hence expectations are high this time as well. The Men in Blue have won the competition thrice and are joint-defending champions. 

Here is a look at the past performances by India at the Asian Champions Trophy:

2011 - Winners

India won the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy competition hosted in China. The preliminary round saw them finish second with nine points, setting up a final meeting with rivals Pakistan.

The teams had drawn their initial meeting in the group matches and the final stretched into penalties, after no goals in regulation time. India emerged 4-2 winners and managed to lift the title. 

2012 - Runners-up

The city of Doha in Qatar was playing host for the second edition of the Asian Champions Trophy. India met Pakistan yet again in the final after navigating through the preliminary rounds. Winning four out of five games, the Men in Blue finished on top of the standings.

However, the final saw Pakistan trump India by a 5-4 scoreline. SV Sunil, VR Ragunath, Gurwinder Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh scored for India, while Waqas Sharif (2), Shafqat Rasool, Rashid Mehmood, and Ateeq Mohammad scored for Pakistan. 

2013 - Fifth

The 2013 edition was the only occasion when India finished outside of the top two positions at the Asian Champions Trophy.

Japan were playing hosts this time and India only managed two wins to secure a meeting with Oman for fifth place. During the placement game, India defeated Oman 6-1, whereas Pakistan won the edition by defeating Japan in the final.

2016 - Winners

India got back to winning ways after missing out on the win for the last two editions by lifting the Asian Champions Trophy in Malaysia. The 2016 edition saw India win four of their five preliminary matches and secure a place in the semi-finals.

Subsequent victories against South Korea and Pakistan in the semi-final and final respectively meant the Men in Blue would go on to lift the title. Rupinder Pal Singh scored 11 goals, the most for any player at the tournament. 

2018 - Joint-winners

The fifth edition of the Asian Champions Trophy was held in Oman. India finished on top of the standings in the preliminary rounds, winning four of their five matches. Meeting Japan in the semi-final, the Men in Blue emerged winners by a score of 3-2 to setup a meeting with rivals Pakistan in the final.

However, the contest could not take place because of incessant rain and thus India and Pakistan were declared as joint-winners. Akashdeep Singh was adjudged as the Player of the Tournament. 

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