The Indian hockey team was duly rewarded in the latest FIH Rankings after Harmanpreet Singh & Co. bagged their fourth Asian Champions Trophy on August 12 (Saturday) by registering a stunning come-from-behind victory against Malaysia in the final. India jumped to 3rd place in the latest rankings after their stellar display in the recently-concluded continental tournament. The Indian men's hockey team was earlier ranked fourth in the FIH Rankings.
India have 2771.35 points and are only behind the top-ranked Netherlands (3095.90 points) and second-placed Belgium 2917.87 points. This was the second time India rose to No 3 in the 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.
Asian Champions Trophy final
Trailing 1-3 in the third quarter, India caught Malaysia napping and netted two goals in a single minute to make an epic comeback in Chennai. The match started with Malaysia setting an aggressive tone, putting the Indians on the back foot. However, India broke the deadlock in the 9th minute when Jugraj unleashed a powerful flick in a penalty conversion, outfoxing the Malaysian goalkeeper.
But Malaysia quickly regrouped and consistently challenged India's defence. Their persistence paid off in the 14th minute, with Azari scoring, assisted by Azuan Hasan's precise pass.
The first quarter's end saw India squandering two penalty corner opportunities. The second quarter wasn't kind to the home team either. Rahim capitalized on a penalty corner in the 18th minute, thanks to a deflection from India's Amit Rohidas. By the 28th minute, Malaysia had extended their lead to 3-1 with Aminudin's successful penalty corner conversion.
Post half time, India looked desperate to level the scores but struggled with conversions. Their efforts to gain penalty corners either missed the mark or were denied by vigilant Malaysian defenders.
However, a turning point came in the 45th minute. India's captain, Harmanpreet, swiftly converted a penalty stroke, followed almost immediately by Gurjant's field goal, leveling the game at 3-3.
The climax was a nail-biter. India earned several penalty corners in the dying minutes, with Harmanpreet missing narrowly on two occasions. But the breakthrough came from Akashdeep, who fired the winning goal with a crisp slap shot, assisted by Mandeep Singh.
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