India is set to lock horns with Malaysia in the final of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy on Saturday (August 12) in Chennai, India.
The hosts defeated Japan 5-0 in the second semi-final comfortably with a stunning overall performance and continued their winning streak.
Akashdeep Singh opened the scoring for the home side in the 19th minute after Hardik Singh’s shot rebounded into his path who passed the ball into the net without any trouble.
Just after the first goal, India’s skipper Harmanpreet Singh — one of the best at penalty corners — scored another for the hosts in the 23rd minute.
India tripled their lead right before the half-time whistle with Mandeep Singh scoring after a brilliant run by Manpreet who dribbled four Japanese players.
Their fourth was scored by Sumit, who combined brilliantly with Manpreet and the fifth was scored by Karthi Selvam.
Earlier in the first semi-final, Malaysia outclassed Korea 6-2 and made their way to the final.
Jazlan Najmi and Silverius Shello scored two goals while Azrai Abu Kamal and Saari Faizal scored one each for the winning side.
On the other side, Ji Woo Cheon and Jang Jonghyun scored for Korea.
Pakistan, Japan and Korea all had the same number of points in the group stage but the latter teams made their way to the semi-finals due to better goal difference.
Pakistan failed to finish in the top four for the first time since the introduction of the Asian Champions Trophy.
Pakistan and India have won the Asian Champions Trophy thrice each, which makes them the most successful teams in the event.
Korea won the title in 2021 after beating Japan on penalties in the final in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Schedule of remaining matches
August 12 — Saturday
Third-place game – Korea vs Japan
Final – Malaysia vs India
