Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 12 : India men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh feels that their encounter against Malaysia in the final Asian Champions Trophy on Saturday won't be easy but they are fully prepared for it.
India produced a stellar performance to seal off a 5-0 victory against Japan in their semifinal encounter on Friday. While Malaysia also performed a similar result as the mauled Korea to seal their place in the final with a 6-2 victory.
In the post-match conference, Harmanpreet addressed the challenge that lies ahead of them in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy.
Even though India thumped five goals past Malaysia in their group-stage encounter, the Indian skipper feels it won't be an easy game for them.
"Securing a place in the final is a very big thing for us and we would like to do well in the final. It will be a tough game. We are fully ready and we know that it is important for us to win," Harmanpreet said.
While coming to the match, after a nervy start to the game, the hosts slowly gained control of the game. An early penalty corner gave India an opportunity to go one in front. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh's drag flick was met by Japan's goalkeeper and they replied with a swift counterattack to put the Blues in trouble. The final shot was a whisker away from the post.
A minute later, forward Shamsher Singh was shown a green card and he had to sit out for the next two minutes. Both sides pressed hard for a goal but the first quarter ended on level terms.
The second quarter began in Japan's favour as India made a mistake but Japan failed to punish them. Akashdeep Singh made Japan pay by scoring the first goal of the game with a field goal.
The Indian team smelled blood and they pounced quickly to strike twice before the halftime whistle. A drag flick from Harmanpreet got India their second goal of the game, while a superb hit from Mandeep made the scoreline 3-0.
India came out all guns blazing to begin the third quarter on a strong note. Sumit made a magical run inside the striking circle to put the ball past the keeper in the 39th minute of the game.
Karthi Selvam made it five for India in the 51st minute after Sukhjeet Singh’s pass from inside the circle.
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