India beat Pakistan in a thrilling final to lift the Asian Champions Trophy. Ruperpinder Pal Singh and  Affan Yousuf gave India the lead and then Nitin Thimmaiah came up with the winner in the fourth quarter of a fascinating contest. It was a double delight for the Indian fans on Diwali as India got the better of their archrivals and defending champions 3-2 in Malaysia. 

Rupinderpal Singh’s brilliant drag flick gave India the lead. Minutes later India made it 2-0, when a terrific ball from Sardar Singh found Ramandeep Singh, whose hit was deflected in by Affan Yousuf.

Pakistan fought back to level 2-2 through goals from Aleem Bilal (PC) and Ali Shaan.

India pressed hard in the fourth quarter. And in the 50^th minute Nikkin Thimmaiah fired in the winner.

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Amid the diplomatic feud between the two countries who are erstwhile hockey masters, the result of the match bore much more significance than the title. And both the teams lived up to the expectations of the highly-anticipated clash. However, it was India who started the match brightly as Pakistan looked defensive at the beginning.

Dominating the possession, Indian earn a penalty corner when Birendra Lakra played to the foot of a defender in the seventh minute. But Jasjit Singh Kular’s flick went wide of the left post.

However, Pakistan didn’t take long to get into groove and two aerial balls — one to the top of the circle and another to the left of the circle — rattled the Indian defence. But Akash Chikte, standing in for injured premier goalkeeper and captain P.R. Sreejesh, was up to the challenge.

In the second quarter, India stepped up their game and they were rewarded. Penalty corner specialist Rupinder flicked high to beat Pakistan goalkeeper Amjad Ali in the 18th minute to mark his 11th goal of the tournament.

India moved in good rhythm and Talwinder Singh could have made it 2-0 when a move created by Thimmaiah was squared to him on the left but his reverse hit went above the bar on the right, with only goalkeeper Amjad to beat.

But India found the second goal two minutes later as Yousuf deflected in from close range a Ramandeep Singh’s square pass from the right after the latter was fed by Sardar Singh few yards behind the Pakistan circle.

Pakistan hit back and reduced the gap to one when a foul by Kothajit Singh led to a penalty corner and Bilal fired a grounder to the right-bottom corner of Chikte in the 26th minute.

Eight minutes into the third quarter, Pakistan benifitted and scored their equaliser from a defensive error from India as Shan slammed past Chikte at the near post on the left in the 38th minute. Rupinder made a poor trapping at the top of the ‘D’ and the ball went behind into the path of Sardar, who made a poor clearance before Shan grabbed the opportunity.

Further drama unfolded when Ramandeep claimed to have made it 3-2 for India in the 39th minute with a close-range deflection following a drive from the top of the circle by Kothajit. But the umpire’s referral showed that neither Lalit Upadhyay nor Ramandeep touched the ball.

Pakistan enjoyed some good moments and mounted attacks but the Indian defence stood tall.

Later, India regained the lead when a fierce counter-attack led by Akashdeep Singh saw him pass to Thimmaiah on the left and the Karnataka forward sounded the board with a drive at the far post for the crucial goal in the 51st minute.

Later, Pakistan made the mess of a penalty corner opportunity when the stopper failed to trap after the push as the time ran out and India stood strong to secure the win.

“It’s always good to win against Pakistan. Most of the time we dominated but Pakistan came back. We played compact hockey as we have done throughout the tournament. It’s a great win,” Sardar said after the win.

IANS

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In-form drag-flick expert Rupinder Pal Singh scored a brace as top-ranked India eked out a 2-1 win over Malaysia to secure the top spot in the round-robin stage in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Wednesday.

Rupinder, who had scored eight goals before this match, gave world No.6 India the lead in the 12th minute but Razie Rahim equalised for world No.14 Malaysia in the 18th minute. However, Rupinder once again stepped up to convert a penalty corner to make it 2-1.

With this win, Roelant Oltmans-coached India have 13 points having played all the five games, while Malaysia remained in the second spot with nine points from four games.

Also Read : India beat arch-rivals Pakistan in Asian Champions Trophy

Meanwhile, South Korea sealed a spot in the semi-finals following a 4-3 win over Japan, who lost five consecutive matches. South Korea are third on the table with seven points from four matches, while fourth-placed Pakistan face fifth-placed China on Thursday.

Pakistan have six points from four matches while the Chinese have three points. Pakistan not only have three points more than China but the goal difference of -1 for the former world champions could come into play even if China, who have a goal difference of (-14), manage a win.

The match at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium between India and Pakistan started at a very good pace with both the teams, known for their counter-attacking game, at it from the very beginning.

India, however, looked better and earned a penalty corner in the third minute. Malaysian goalkeeper Kumar Subramaniam brought out his stick to the left to deny Rupinder’s powerful flick in the third minute.

But Rupinder gave India a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute when the Punjab set-piece specialist scored on a rebound after his penalty corner flick hit the side bar and fell just in front of him.

India’s quick counter-attacking game came to the fore when Nikkin Thimmaiah led a stirring attack and squared for Akashdeep, who attempted a reverse-hand strike that was padded away by Subraniam in the 15th minute.

A couple of minutes into the second quarter, Affan Yousuf wasted a chance of putting India 2-0 up as Akashdeep set him up with just Subramaniam to beat but the former fired it over.

But the Malaysians levelled from the penalty corner as Razie flicked past young Indian custodian Akash Chikte, who was standing in for injured captain P.R. Sreejesh, in the 18th minute. Chikte quickly fell down during an untimely jump and it allowed Razie to send the ball over him.

Chitke, however, later proved his quality as he denied a close-range deflection near his right post to keep India at 1-1 till the half-time.

After the 10-minute break, India made numerous goal-scoring chances in the third quarter but the goal didn’t come.

Talwinder Singh’s drive from a close angle was blocked by custodian Subramaniam but the ball popped out, giving India a penalty corner. But Rupinder’s flick to the right was palmed away by the Malaysian custodian in the 37th minute.

Malaysia too had their moments earning two penalty corners in the final five minutes of the third and penultimate quarter but they were not able to go past the Indian defence. While Razie was denied by defender Surender Kumar, Shahril Saabah’s lethargic flick was blocked by Chikte.

Also Read: India crush China to seal semis spot in Asian Champions Trophy

Malaysia got another opportunity of taking a lead when an indisciplined defensive activity from India’s part earned the hosts a penalty corner in the 56th minute. But Razie’s flick went wide off the mark.

But India hit back in a fierce attack and earned a penalty corner which was duly converted by Rupinder with just 2.15 minutes left on the clock, stunning the home fans.

The hopes of the Malaysian fans revived as they were rewarded with a penalty corner in the final minute but Razie’s high flick was blocked by Chikte, paving the way for India’s 2-1 win.

IANS