India beat a gutsy Malaysia 2-1 at Dhaka in Bangladesh to end their 10-year wait for clinching the Hockey Asia Cup. It is India’s 3rd Asia Cup title after they last won in 2007.
he Indians, ranked sixth in the world, came out all guns blazing. They took the lead in the 3rd minute through Ramandeep Singh, who scored from a rebound after his initial deflection from SV Sunil’s cross hit the post. A minute before the half time, Lalit Upadhyay doubled India’s lead when he beautifully deflected home Sumit’s reverse hit cross from the left flank.
Today’s win was India’s second victory over Malaysia in the tournament, having beaten them 6-2 in the Super 4s stage. 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 4s stage.
For Malaysia, it was their best result in the tournament. They had earlier won the bronze in the 2007 edition of the event in Chennai. Pakistan won the bronze medal after edging out Korea 6-3 in the third-fourth place play-off match.
