Defending champions India qualified for the semifinal of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament after thrashing Malaysia 8-1 for their third successive preliminary round win, here on Wednesday.
Rajkumar Pal’s sensational hat-trick helped the Indian Men’s Hockey Team beat Malaysia comprehensively by an 8-1 margin in their third match of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Moqi, China on Wednesday.
Besides Rajkumar Pal (3′, 25′, 33′), Araijeet Singh Hundal (6′, 39′) Jugraj Singh (7′), Captain Harmanpreet Singh (22′) and Uttam Singh (40′) also contributed to India’s third consecutive win of the tournament. With this win, they have consolidated their lead at the top of the points table, with nine points in three matches. Meanwhile, for Malaysia, Akhimullah Anuar (34′) scored the lone goal.
India were in total cruise control, easing in the goals at an alarming rate, going up 5-0 within the first half.
The third quarter continued in a similar fashion, with the Indian team maintaining control of the game through relentless attacks. Rajkumar went on to complete his hat-trick as he scored on a rebound off Malaysian goalkeeper Adrian, who had blocked Vivek Sagar Prasad’s initial shot in an open play.
Finally, in the second half, Malaysia snuck into India’s circle and pulled a goal back through Akhimullah Anuar in the 34th minute.
However, India would go on to add two more goals to their tally as Hundal scored his second goal in the 39th minute, while Uttam slotted the ball home after a chaotic penalty corner routine in the 40th minute, ending the third quarter with a massive 8-1 scoreline.
Expressing delight over India’s third consecutive win, Hero of the Match, Arajieet Singh Hundal said, “We want to go all through in every game, we have to win every game, that is what we plan in team meetings. We are here to win. Personally, the last two games were not up to mark, but I’m really happy that I scored today. I am getting my confidence back day by day, and I will do much better for India in the upcoming games.”
The six-team tournament is being played in a round-robin format and the top four will advance to the semifinals on September 16 followed by the final on September 17.
India will take on Korea in their fourth match of the tournament on Thursday, 12th September 2024 at 1:15PM IST.
(with PTI inputs)
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