Indian hockey team registers emphatic win over Malaysia to bag #AsiaCup2017 title
Dhaka, October 23: Indian men's hockey team registered an emphatic victory over Malaysia in the finals of Hero Asia Cup Hockey and bagged the title trophy after 10 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore and many other ministers congratulated Indian men's hockey team and lauded their efforts.
Prime Minister Modi tweeted, “Great game, great win! Congrats to our hockey team for winning the #AsiaCup2017. India rejoices at this stupendous victory. @TheHockeyIndia”. While Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore said, “WE ARE CHAMPIONS! Congrats @TheHockeyIndia for winning the #AsiaCup2017 title for the third time! May the victories keep coming! #INDvMAS”.
Notably, India defeated Malaysia by 2-1 in the summit clash to clinch the title. Ramandeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay scored for India while Shahril Saabah was an alone Malaysian to score for his country. India scored two goals from field efforts through Ramandeep Singh in the 3rd minute and Lalit Upadhyay in the 29th minute to break Malaysian hopes and confidence to win their maiden title.
The ever-improving Malaysians, however, fought valiantly and didn’t give up for a single minute. Their efforts bore fruit in the 50th minute when Shahril Saabah pulled one goal back. But, Indian defender holds enough till the end to lift the Asia Cup title.
Earlier in 2003 and 2007, Indian hockey team bagged Asia Cup while Malaysia for the first time reached in the finals of the tournament. Pakistan won the bronze medal after edging out Korea 6-3 in the third-fourth place play-off match earlier in the day. Interestingly, the top-ranked Indians finished unbeaten in the tournament, having won all their matches except for the 1-1 draw against Korea in the Super 4 stage.