India resoundingly defeated Malaysia 5-0 in a round-robin match at the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy hockey on Sunday, reinstating their winning momentum.
Local hero Karthi Selvam (15th minute), vice-captain Hardik Singh (32'), captain Harmanpreet Singh (42'), Gurjant Singh (53'), and Jugraj Singh (54') contributed to India's impressive score. This victory propelled India to the top of the leaderboard, bringing them closer to securing a semifinal spot.
India began the first quarter aggressively, creating numerous clear opportunities to score while approaching the Malaysian goal.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's Fitri Saari received a green card for a harsh interception in the eighth minute.
As the first quarter was ending, Harmanpreet swiftly moved towards the Malaysian goal unmarked and passed the ball to Selvam, who easily netted it, giving the hosts an early lead.
In the second quarter, India's Vivek Sagar was shown a green card. Despite this, India continued to launch persistent attacks, including a couple of penalty corners.
Despite creating close scoring opportunities before halftime, India failed to capitalize due to Malaysia's solid defensive play, leaving the score at 1-0.
Upon the restart, India quickly expanded their lead in the third quarter. Hardik successfully turned a penalty corner into a goal after the initial flick from Harmanpreet was repelled by the goalkeeper.
Malaysia also secured a penalty corner in the same quarter, converted by Najmi Jazlan. However, following an Indian video referral, the goal was reversed due to a dangerous flick, much to the delight of the home crowd.
The 33rd and 37th minutes saw Nilakanta Sharma and Prasad being yellow-carded. In the 42nd minute, India was awarded three consecutive penalties, the third of which was successfully converted by Hardik.
In the final quarter, both teams elevated their game, but India continued to dominate possession.
Gurjant netted India's fourth goal in the 53rd minute after a couple of corner attempts, taking advantage of a deflection from Mandeep Singh's shot, courtesy of an assist from Hardik.
Unwilling to slow down even after scoring four goals, India increased their lead a minute later when Jugraj successfully converted another penalty corner.
As the match neared its end, India maintained their intensity.
India's next challenge will be defending champions South Korea on Monday, while Malaysia will face off against Japan.
