New Delhi: Continuing their impressive performance at the 9th Hero Asian Hockey Championship, India defeated Malaysia 4-2. With this victory, India secured their fourth consecutive win and maintained their top position in the points table.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh delivered an outstanding performance for the defending champions. He scored a brilliant hat-trick with two goals from penalty corners and one from a penalty strole. Meanwhile, Sukhjeet Singh scored India’s fourth goal to secure the team’s victory.
Malaysia, who were unbeaten before the match, put up an attacking fight but failed to break India’s disciplined defence as the hosts secured a 4–2 victory. In other matches, South Korea defeated Bangladesh 5–0—marking Bangladesh’s fourth consecutive defeat, while the contest between China and Japan ended in a 2–2 draw.
With these results, India, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea have secured their spots in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, China and Bangladesh are out of the semi-final race and will now compete for fifth place.
In the upcoming matches, India will face South Korea, while China and Bangladesh will take on each other. Meanwhile, Japan will compete against Malaysia.
