India edged past hosts China 1-0 to win their record-extending fifth Asian Champions Trophy title on Tuesday. The Indian team fought hard in the summit clash against a spirited Chinese side who put everything on the line to make a statement. Jugraj Singh, who entered the field as a substitute player, broke the Chinese deadlock in the final quarter to help India prove their supremacy in Asia. It was a rare field goal by Jugraj, but it came at a crucial time when the other Indian stars were finding it tough to get past China goalkeeper Wang Weihao.
Meanwhile, 23rd-ranked China put up an incredible fight against India, who are the top-ranked Asian team. The hosts’ players didn’t disappoint the home fans and produced solid defensive efforts to keep India at bay for the first three quarters. The hosts dominated the possession but failed to get past the Indian defensive line.
China looked a bit shaky in the initial minutes of the match, but India failed to take advantage of it. The home crowd also put some pressure on Harmanpreet Singh and Co. as the fans came in big numbers to support the hosts. However, as time passed, China started looking more comfortable with the ball, but they lacked the intensity off the ball and allowed the Indian players to breach their defence and take shots at the goalkeeper. Sumit took the first clear shot on target in the 6th minute but was denied a goal by Wang Weihao.
India’s first penalty corner came in the 10th minute of the match, but Harmanpreet Singh failed to breach the Chinese defence and hit a defender’s foot, which followed another penalty corner as the Indian skipper hit it wide of the goal.
The Indian team had another chance to open the scoring in the 14th minute, but Weihao made another sensational save, which left Sukhjeet stunned. The Chinese goalkeeper stood tall as a rock-solid wall for his side to deny India a goal in the first quarter.
India continued to play with a high-line press in the second quarter and took control of the possession to frustrate the Chinese players. Jarmanpreet Singh did make a couple of in-behind runs to exploit the defensive line, but China remained compact and didn’t give much space.
Skipper Harmanpreet, who scored a brace against South Korea in the semi-final, missed opportunities to score from penalty corners in the first half. He was very close to putting India ahead in the final minutes of the second half but hit the goalpost.
Meanwhile, Manpreet dribbled past the Chinese defenders in the 13th minute and then was put down on the ground by Weihao. The Indian team was awarded a penalty stroke, but China straightaway went for a referral, and the video umpire overturned the decision to free-kick.
China spent so much time in their own half, defending, which hampered their attacking moves. When they managed to get the ball, very few players arrived in the Indian box to make the crucial runs.
However, they did start the second half aggressively and put the Indian defensive line under some pressure, but the visitors held their fort.
India head coach Peter Fulton was animated watching his players commit back-to-back errors, and their poor judgement allowed China to break free on numerous occasions in the third quarter.
The Indian players relentlessly tried to break the Chinese deadlock, and they finally did it with 9.34 minutes left on the clock, courtesy of Jugraj Singh. The super-sub made a massive impact and scored a crucial goal when it mattered the most.
It was skipper Harmanpreet who set-up the lone goal as Chinese defensive line broke at last after constant pressure from Indian foewards to concede in the final quarter
China did try hard in the final minutes to get the equaliser, but the Indian defenders made sure India became the Asian Champions Trophy winner for the fifth time.
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