KUALA LUMPUR: The excellent start of the national men’s hockey squad in the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) 2023 campaign came to a halt after being thrashed 0-5 by three-time champions India in Chennai last night.
The home team’s goal fest started in the 15th minute with a field goal by Selvam Karthi in the match at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium.
After a scoreless second quarter, India struck again when they scored twice from penalty corners, one each by Hardik Singh in the 32nd minute and Harmanpeet Singh, ten minutes later.
India piled on the misery on the Speedy Tigers coached by A. Arul Selvaraj when it was Gurjant Singh’s turn to score a field goal in the 53rd minute and Jugraj Singh completed their big win with a penalty corner a minute later.
India’s stylish win saw them collect seven points to overtake Malaysia who collected six points to top the group after three games.
Malaysia, who opened the tournament campaign by defeating Pakistan 3-1 on Thursday followed by a 5-1 victory over China on Friday, will settle accounts with Japan this evening.
Meanwhile, Arul Selvaraj was clearly disappointed with his men who were seen to give a lot of space and respect the opponents in the match.
“So in the next game against Japan, we have to play with more confidence and high energy to win,” he said in a video shared to the media by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation. – BERNAMA
