India retained their Asian Champions Trophy crown with a 1-0 win over China in the final in Moqi on Tuesday evening. Jugraj Singh scored the only goal of the match in the 51st minute, after a frustrating game for India, as they came up against a well-organised, stubborn Chinese defence.
This was India's fifth Asian Champions Trophy title, and once again reaffirmed their status as the foremost hockey nation of the continent. That gulf between them and China -- the lowest-ranked side at this competition -- didn't really show that much during the game, even though the hosts were content to sit back and defend in numbers.
The first quarter saw an inspired performance from Chinese goalkeeper Wang Weihao, who was the sole reason the contest remained goalless. He made a couple of excellent saves from Sukhjeet Singh, thwarted Manpreet Singh from close range, and also made excellent saves off shots from Raj Kumar Pal and Nilakanta Sharma.
India couldn't really manage to win too many penalty corners either, as they only managed a couple in the first half, and none at all in the second. As the game wore on and they were unable to break China down, India also began to show some frustration at umpiring decisions, and that began to tell on their hockey too, as passes were beginning to be rushed, and also basic skills weren't executed well enough.
Eventually, the decisive moment came with nine minutes to go, and it was a moment of pure quality from start to finish. It began with Harmanpreet Singh advancing deep into Chinese territory down the left flank. He didn't stop his run halfway through, and fully went through to the baseline. From there, he found Jugraj around the penalty spot, and his finish to Wang's left was unerring into the bottom corner.
It was the kind of moment that India needed against a packed Chinese defence, and a show of tactical nous that got them their goal, as two of their defenders broke into the circle to fashion the winner.
This trophy marks the end of a highly-successful 2024 for Indian hockey, which was obviously highlighted by the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. That they have followed it up with another show of supremacy in the continent, and also managed to integrate youngsters like Uttam Singh and Araijeet Singh Hundal into the senior set-up is a good sign for the health of Indian hockey.
You can relive the final on our blog below.