India beat China 1-0 in closely fought match to lift 5th Asian Champions Trophy

Jugraj Singh scored the decisive goal in the 51st minute to help India secure their hard-won victory. This win came on the back of China displaying incredible resilience throughout the game. 

This tournament victory comes soon after the Indian hockey team had won the bronze at the Summer Olympics in Paris last month.

Indian defence under pressure

Earlier, in the tournment opener India and China had played against each other and India had had won the match 3-0. So, the Harmanpreet Singh-led team were the hot favourites but the hosts were not giving up without a fight.

They fought them from the word go as China tried to put the Indian defence under a lot of pressure and break India on the counter.

For India, the first real chance came early in the first quarter when Sukhjeet put in a cheeky shot, which was effectively stopped by the Chinese goalkeeper. On the 9th minute, India got its first penalty corner (PC) which was blocked by the Chinese defence and in another chance, Harmanpreet was well-wide of the mark. The first quarter ended strong for China and not in India’s favour.

It was 0-0 at half-time

The second quarter turned out to be edgy as China made sure India couldn't get past them. On the 27th minute Harmanpreet was able to make the most of a mistrapped PC, but it bounced off the post. Soon after, India was initially given a penalty stroke because Wang had wiped out Manpreet Singh. But China got a review of the decision, which swung in their favour.

At half-time, it was 0-0. In the third quarter, as India tried to attack China’s defense, the latter held on. China got a few PCs but Indian defence fended them off.

Final quarter

India flagged off the final quarter by applying a lot of pressure and finally broke the deadlock in the 51st minute. Harmanpreet made a fine run into the D and setup Jugraj, who made no mistake in breaking the deadlock. China had to now throw caution to the wind and tried its utmost to pressurise India.

A flying goalkeeper was brought on the field as they kept searching for the goal. However, the Indian defence was strong enough and India clinched the win in the end.

Hockey India, the governing body of the sport in India, has announced each player will receive a bonus of ₹3 lakh, while the support staff will be awarded ₹1.5 lakh.