Asian Champions Trophy: Harmanpreet’s hat-trick helps India down Malaysia

It was expected to be India’s toughest test of the tournament and the match between the two highest ranked sides in the competition lived up to its billing. Malaysia tested the host before India prevailed 4-2 to remain the only unbeaten side at the Asian Champions Trophy here on Sunday.

The penultimate day of the league competition at the Olympian Surjeet Stadium also confirmed the semifinalists with Japan and Korea completing the line-up. The rematch between the Asian Games finalists was a much closer affair but it was also more tactical as well.

A lot of play was confined to the midfield with neither team being in complete control but neither willing to pull back either. India took an early lead when Harmanpreet Singh converted the team’s first penalty corner in the third minute but then missed a couple of chances up front.

With both teams well matched in every department, it was more a battle of attrition than one of skills. Compared to the final in Nagoya, Malaysia was more compact and read the Indian team better, anticipating the overlapping and passes and using short passes to try and break the flow.

On the other hand, India found its own way around, pressing harder off the ball and being inventive with the passing. Both coach Craig Fulton and captain Harmanpreet admitted that the finishing needed to be clinical. “We created chances, it is up to us to make use of them,” Fulton agreed.

Harmanpreet got a hat-trick, converting another PC in the 33rd and a penalty stroke in the 58th. Malaysia equalised through Akhimullah Anuar to be level at half time, then Shello Silverius pulled one back in the final seconds.

The results: Korea 5 (Son Dain 17, 32, 51, Park Geunwoo 7-pc, 34-pc) bt Bangladesh 0; Japan 2 (Raiki Fujishima 48-pc, Yuma Nagai 48) drew with China 2 (Jialiang Zhang 8, Chen Benhai 60-pc); India 4 (Harmanpreet Singh 3-pc, 33-pc, 58-ps, Sukhjeet Singh 43) bt Malaysia 2 (Akhimullah Anuar 25-pc, Shello Silverius 60).