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Asian Men's Hockey Champions Trophy
A semifinal berth already secured, unbeaten India will look to continue the winning run and supremacy over arch-rivals Pakistan in their last and most-awaited round-robin match of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy here on Saturday. With four wins out of as many games, defending champions India are leading the points table, followed closely by Pakistan. Starting the tournament as clear favourites, Paris Olympics bronze-medallists India haven't disappointed so far, beating hosts China 3-0, Japan 5-1, trouncing Malaysia 8-1 before registering a 3-1 victory against Korea in their last match. Pakistan, on the other hand, have been resilient in the campaign. Playing under the guidance of legendary forward Tahir Zaman, the Ammad Butt-led side has improved with every passing game. Pakistan drew 2-2 against Malaysia and Korea, before beating Japan and China 2-1 and 5-1 respectively to climb to the second spot. Going by recent results, India enjoy an upper-hand over Pakistan. In their last .
India's new-found ability to score field goals will be crucial as the defending champions will look to extend their winning streak when they face Malaysia in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Wednesday. Field goal conversion was a key concern during India's bronze medal-winning campaign at the Paris Olympics last month, where they netted 15 goals but managed only three from open play. It even prompted the legendary goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who retired after the Games, to stress the need for improvement in this area. "If we are thinking about the next level for the Indian hockey team and want to consistently win Olympic medals, we need to score more field goals because our defence has its limitations," Sreejesh had remarked. Coming into the tournament after securing their successive bronze wins at the Olympics, India are looking a more enterprising side, grabbing opportunities up front with a rock solid defence in place. India started their title defence with a 3-
Giving them a big boost ahead of the Asian Games, India on Sunday rose to third in FIH rankings following their Asian Champions Trophy triumph. India (2771.35 points) jumped one place to third and went past England (2763.50 points) behind top-ranked Netherlands (3095.90 points) and Belgium (2917.87 points). This was the second time India rose to No 3 in FIH rankings. India had achieved a similar ranking in 2021 after securing a bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, which was their first medal at the Games in 41 years. On Saturday, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side defeated Malaysia 4-3 to lift the ACT title. They made an incredible comeback from 1-3 down. In the last edition of the event in 2021, India had finished third. The Indian hockey team's next assignment will be the Asian Games in Hangzhou from September 23. The ACT runners-up Malaysia remained on ninth in the FIH rankings. Apart from India and Malaysia, South Korea too find themselves at 11th while Pakistan is placed 16th.
Japan finished on a high after trumping defending champion South Korea 5-3 during the third-place playoff of the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy here on Saturday. Goals from Ryoma Ooka (3rd), Ryosei Kato (9th), Kentaro Fukuda (28th), Shota Yamada (53rd) and Ken Nagayoshi (58th) allowed the Japanese to finish on a high. Jonghyun Jang (15th and 33rd) and Cheoleon Park (26th) were the goal-scorers for the Koreans. The first quarter began positively for the Japanese, as they were in attacking mode. Just three minutes into the tie, Ryoma Ooka slammed a field goal through a heavily-loaded Korean defence. Japan's confidence level was reflected in the gameplay right from the start, as six minutes later, it again managed to penetrate Korea's defence. This time, it included some haphazard teamwork between Kosei Kawabe and Kentaro Fukuda inside the box before Ryosei Kato tapped in to double the lead for his side from close range. Nevertheless, the Koreans were not to go down and out so easily.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Friday said it has decided to "abandon" the trial of the new penalty corner rule as it doesn't want to tinker much with the existing set piece regulation, a glamour aspect of the sport. "FIH has decided to put on hold and abandon the new penalty corner rule trial. The format that was being considered during the trial will not be taken into consideration anymore," FIH president Tayyab Ikram said on the sidelines of the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy here. "But, I have already instructed to have a re-evaluation of further options, and we are in big favour to keep the existing PC rule. If it will be a different change, it would be around the same format, but in more dynamic ways." According to the proposed rule, all attackers except the pusher at the backline must start at least five metres outside the striking circle called the 'D' which is 12 metres from the goal post. The ball must travel outside the dotted line, which is five metres bey
India hockey team head coach Craig Fulton said following his team's semifinal win over Japan in the Asian Champions Trophy that he is not someone who likes giving instructions to players from the sidelines, but prefers imparting lessons during training. India thrashed Japan 5-0 in the last-four clash to set up a title showdown here with Malaysia on Saturday. Following the huge win, Fulton said, "I don't do a lot of coaching from the sidelines, but during training. That's where the ideas are installed. Maybe, there are a few things that have to change (during the match), but it's up to the senior players to take a call." India skipper Harmanpreet Singh, too, was all praise for Fulton for bringing in "structural changes" to the side. "Every coach has a different mentality. Our past coaches have been good. Even he (Fulton) is good. Every coach thinks about the betterment of the team," said Harmanpreet after the match on Friday. "He is doing a good job. While we have brought in struct
Malaysia blew away defending champions South Korea 6-2 with a superlative performance to enter its maiden final in the Asian Champions Trophy here on Friday. The goals were scored by Faizal Saari, Shello Silverious, Abu Kamal Azrai and Najmi Jazlan. For Korea, Woo Cheon Ji and skipper Jonghyun Jang found the back of the net. The first quarter began on a positive note for both sides, as it took just three minutes for Korea to surge ahead, with Ji scoring a field goal. However, it did not take long for Malaysia to level proceedings as in the very next minute, Azrai fired in a field goal in a solo effort to bring the deadlock back on. After an attack each, it was Malaysia that took the lead this time, as in the ninth, Jazlan scored for the side through a penalty corner rebound. While Malaysia's Amirul Azahar was green carded in the subsequent minute, in the 14th, it was a PC for Korea, with Jang coming up with a fierce drag-flick to equalise. As the second quarter began, just after
Maintaining intensity throughout the 60 minutes of the game and consistency in finishing would be India's targets when the hosts take on Japan in the semifinal of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Friday. No doubt, India will start as favourites after their unbeaten run in the round-robin stage, winning four matches and drawing one to top the points table. However, India would be wary of Japan, the only side the hosts have not beaten. The league match between the two sides had ended in a 1-1 draw. There is a wide gap in the world rankings between the two teams as India are at fourth spot as against 19 of Japan. But the home side should not forget that they had lost to Japan 3-5 in the semifinals of the 2021 edition in Dhaka after thrashing their opponents 6-0 in the league stage. India have scored the most number of goals -- 20 -- so far in this tournament but they missed chances galore against Japan in their league match, and the hosts will have to make amends o