India lived up to its billing as the best Asian hockey side with a classy and ruthless performance on Wednesday to hammer Malaysia 8-1 at the Moqi Training Base in Hulunbuir, China, and enter the semi-finals of the Asian Champions Trophy.
At one point, they looked good to better their best-ever win over Malaysia (14-2 in 1954) as they racked up eight goals in the first three quarters. However, it ended 8-1 after a cagey final quarter.
The defending champions rode on a superb attacking display led by Raj Kumar Pal who scored his maiden international hat-trick and 20-year-old Araijeet Singh Hundal who won the Player of the Match award for scoring two goals.
India scored as many as five goals from open play with the remaining three coming from penalty corners.
While penalty corner conversion was an issue on Wednesday – India had 15 – the team can take a lot of confidence from their young players stepping up and scoring field goals.
At the Paris Olympics, where India won bronze, the team’s inability to score from open play was a cause for concern.
India made 27 circle penetrations, 12 more than Malaysia and had 55 per cent possession, dominating the proceedings against the finalists from the last edition.
India began their title defense in China with a 3-0 win over the hosts before hammering Japan 5-1 on Monday.
Free Malaysia Today columnist Frankie D’Cruz termed Malaysia’s defeat: “Malaysian hockey’s embarrassment for eternity”.
“Malaysia fell apart from the first minute to the last in a game that perfectly captured the sense of decayed national hockey architecture,” he wrote. “You could pick a slew of words to describe the 8-1 demolition of Malaysia at the hands of India, once a banana-skin opponent... None of them would be pretty.”
The News Straits Times said alarm bells are ringing for Malaysian hockey as coach Sarjit Singh’s rebuilding project seems to be falling apart.
“Just two days after a shocking 4-2 defeat by minnows China, world No. 13 Malaysia were handed their worst-ever defeat by India,” it noted. “It’s their heaviest defeat in 36 encounters against the world No. 5, dating all the way back to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.”
Sarjit, who was appointed in March, admitted his team’s morale collapsed after conceding three goals in the opening seven minutes.
“We gave India too much respect,” said the frustrated coach. “Our defensive structure failed, and though my players tried to fight back, India were just too good. It’s disappointing.”
India hold a strong track record at the Asian Champions Trophy, having won the title four times – the most by any team.
Its last triumph was achieved on home soil last year, where they defeated Malaysia 4-3 in the final.
While 10 of India’s 16 Paris Olympics medallists are playing in China, vice-captain Hardik Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Shamsher Singh and Gurjant Singh have been rested.
In their place is a young forward line that includes Araijeet, Uttam Singh, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen and debutant Gurjot Singh.
India were scheduled to play South Korea on Sept 12 and Pakistan on Sept 14. The semi-finals and final are set for Sept 16 and Sept 17.
