Asian Champions Trophy Highlights: – Arch-rivals India defeated Pakistan 4-0 in the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy. Earlier, Malaysia prevailed against South Korea with a 1-0 victory. Japan defeated China 2-1 in the first match of the day. With this, the round-robin stage in the tournament has come to an end. India, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan enter the semifinal. Pakistan and China meanwhile have been knocked out.
Also Read: Asian Champions Trophy Highlights: India and Malaysia book spots in semifinal
Asian Champions Trophy Matches
Japan BEAT China – 2-1
Malaysia BEAT South Korea – 1-0
India BEAT Pakistan – 4-0
India vs Pakistan
Captain Harmanpreet Singh’s brilliant drag-flick helped India overwhelm arch-rival Pakistan in a pulsating match of Asian Champions Trophy here.
With the win, India ended at the top spot at the end of the league stage. Harmanpreet netted a brace while Jugraj Singh and Akashdeep Singh struck one goal each to help India defeat Pakistan 4-0 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai. Team India have already qualified for a place in the semifinals. On the other hand, the big defeat put Pakistan out of the tournament.
Japan vs China
Despite impressive performances, a victory has still eluded Japan. Last edition’s runner-up is in need of a win to keep their semifinal hopes alive in the tournament. They will be up against a struggling China in the upcoming contest.
The team led by Masaki Ohashi lost two matches while their other two games ended in a draw in the Asian Champions Trophy so far. They will look to turnaround the fortunes in the upcoming contest.
China meanwhile are already out of contention from a spot in the semis. The side led by Changliang Lin were only able to salvage a solitary draw in the tournament so far. They have meanwhile lost three matches. The team will look to end the campaign on a high.
Malaysia vs South Korea
With nine points on the board, Malaysia have made it to the semifinal at the Asian Champions Trophy. The team will however want to end the round-robin stage on a high. The Speedy Tigers will face defending champions South Korea in their final match of the group stage.
Following the 0-5 defeat against India, the Malaysian side bounced back by registering a 3-1 win against Japan. Coach Arul Antoni would want his boys to continue the winning momentum before the knockouts.
South Korea meanwhile enter the contest after suffering their first defeat in the tournament. The defending champions went down against India 3-2 in their previous game. With five points on the board, Korea atleast need a draw to secure their spot in the semifinal. Korea meanwhile will likely be without their captain Jhongyun Jhang who had to be stretchered off the field in the previous game.
Follow InsideSport on GOOGLE NEWS / Follow Asian Champions Trophy 2023 Live Updates with InsideSport.IN
