Dominant India win fifth ACT hockey title

A determined India claimed their fifth Hero Asian Champions Trophy title with a fighting 1-0 victory over hosts China here on Tuesday, completing a display of absolute dominance in the tournament in which they won all their matches.

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Defender Jugraj Singh scored a rare field goal as the defending champions toiled hard before getting the better of their opponents.

It was not easy for the Harmanpreet Singh-led India as they failed to break the Chinese defence in the first three quarters. Eventually, Jugraj broke the deadlock in the 51st minute to hand the Paris Olympics bronze medallists the win against a resolute Chinese side, which was playing in only its second international tournament final.

Before this, China’s only appearance in the final of an international tournament was in 2006 Asian Games, where they finished second-best after losing 1-3 to Korea.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan defeated Korea 5-2 to bag the third spot in the six-team competition. India, thus, became the most successful team in the tournament’s history with a record-extending five titles. The Indians had previously achieved back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2018.