New Delhi: Defending champions India qualified for the semifinal of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament 2024 after registering a thumping 8-1 win over Malaysia for their third successive preliminary round win on Wednesday. Raj Kumar Pal gave India the lead in the 3rd minute and then went onto score two more goals in the 25th and 33rd minute to complete his hat-trick.
From the very beginning, India started off in a dominate fashion scoring the first three goals inside just seven minutes. Apart from Pal, Araijeet Singh Hundal (6th and 39th minute), Jugraj Singh (7th minute), Harmanpreet Singh (22nd minute), and Uttam Singh (40th minute) scored for the reigning champions.
đIndia thrash Malaysia 8-1 to continue dominance at the #AsianChampionsTrophy 2024. #HACT2024 | #Hockey | pic.twitter.com/yb0gSY6HyE
â All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) September 11, 2024
India atop the standings
For the Malaysian side, the lone goal came in the 34th minute and it was scored Akhimullah Anuar. Apart from him, none of the Malaysians could tackle the Indian moves and navigate through their defence which seemed to be solid. India are currently on top of the standings with nine points from three wins. The six-team tournament is being played in a round-robin format and the top four will advance to the semifinals on September 16 followed by the final on September 17.
Team India had earlier defeated hosts China 3-0 in their tournament-opener before getting the better of Japan 5-1. The Indian team has been in tremendous form in the ongoing tournament as they have notched up dominant victories so far. Paris Olympics bronze-medallists India will next take on Korea on Thursday before finishing their league engagements against arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday. In the first match of the day on Wednesday, Asian side Pakistan beat Japan 2-1 to improve their chances of reaching the semifinals.
 Rajkumar Pal scored a hattrick while Araijeet Singh Hundal netted a brace to help India hammer Malaysia 8-1 in their Asian Champions Trophy hockey match.  Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
