India beat Malaysia 4-3, win ACT for fourth time

India fought back from two goals down to eke out a 4-3 win over a spirited Malaysia in a thrilling final to claim their fourth Asian Champions Trophy title at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai.
Jugraj Singh (9th minute), skipper Harmanpreet Singh (45th), Gurjant Singh (45th) and Akashdeep Singh (56th) were the goal scores for India. For Malaysia, Abu Kamal Azrai (14th), Razie Rahim (18th) and Muhamad Aminudin (28th) found the back of the net.
Malaysia were aggressive in the first half as the Indians found it difficult to restrict their opponents.
India converted their first penalty in the ninth minute with Jugraj scoring with a fierce flick to the right of the Malaysian goalie.
The Indians got into their groove as the match progressed and played full-press hockey after a sluggish start. But Malaysia didn’t sit back and continued to test the Indian defence. Their efforts bore fruit in the 14th minute when Azari found the back of the net after being fed by Azuan Hasan from the right flank.
Seconds from the first quarter, India secured back-to-back penalty corners but wasted both the chances. Malaysia kept up the tempo in the second quarter and earned consecutive penalty corners in the 18th minute, the second of which was converted by Rahim. Malaysia secured a penalty corner for an unnecessary stick check by Jugraj in the 23rd minute but the effort went wide.
Malaysia got another penalty corner in the 28th minute and this time Aminudin made no mistake to hand his side a 3-1 lead at half-time.
India worked well to win another penalty corner in the 36th, but Jugraj shot wide. Sensing urgency, India switched to possession-based play. But the Malaysian defenders did well to intercept at the right time and keep the Indian attackers at bay. The Indians turned the match on its head in a span of a minute, pumping in two goals to level the scores 3-3.
Akashdeep scored the winner for India with a slap stick from top of the ‘D’ after receiving a pass from Mandeep Singh. The Indians pressed hard in the final few minutes of the match, drawing two fine saves from the Malaysian goalkeeper.