Asian Champions Trophy 2023: Calm and composed backline help India beat Malaysia 5-0 | Hockey News

As far as clinical performances go, India couldn’t have asked for a better one than the 5-0 resounding win over Malaysia that took them to the top spot of Asian Champions Trophy. Despite scoring seven past China in the first game, India came into this fixture facing a stern test as they were struggling to score from field goals and the defence looking petrified at times.
Having struggled to breach Japan’s defence on Friday in search of a winner, where their lack of intent in the circle came under the lens, Sunday was totally different at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, where they netted five, two of them via excellent field goals that should make them breathe easy.
For head coach Craig Fulton, whose philosophy revolves around defense to win, this was only their second clean sheet since taking charge in April, having beaten Argentina 3-0 in the FIH Pro League in June. “It is good to have a performance like this,” Fulton said at the end of game. Having conceded two goals against China in the opener, here India’s defence hardly allowed Malaysia to run freely into the circle, as they intercepted any through pass from their midfielders. Even in the moments where Malaysian forwards managed to get near the goal, India’s backline looked calm and composed.
In the first quarter, India looked a bit rusty, still appearing to be in the hangover from their performance against Japan, who held them 1-1. Although India made multiple charges into the circle, they hardly threatened Malaysia’s defence, and the lone shot on target was saved comfortably. As the clock ticked down to the last minute of the final quarter, Manpreet Singh made a diagonal pass that took out Malaysia’s midfield and backline in one go. Even though rest of India’s players were making a beeline entry into the circle, Karthi Selvam, was already in position in front of the goal, where he appeared to be waiting for ages. Having received the ball to his right with his back to the goal, he made one swift turn to neutralise the only defender who was behind him and in the next spilt second the ball hit the back of the net.
Chennai: India’s Hardik Singh celebrates after scoring a goal against Malaysia during the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 hockey match between India and Malaysia, at Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, in Chennai, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023.(PTI Photo/R Senthil Kumar)(PTI08_06_2023_000329A)
Incidentally, it was the same stroke he was practicing during the warm-up before the game as Fulton repeatedly told him to go with his instincts. “Felt good, as you saw, was practising the same one before the start and coach told me to go for it whenever you are in the right position and that is what I did,” said Karthi, who was wearing the bandana gifted to him Birendra Lakra.
Having failed to get in the goalsheet in the first two games, Karthi finally managed to score one with his family watching him from the stands. “Playing my first match here, I put myself under lot of pressure. I so badly wanted to score in front of the local crowd. But I was trying too hard and ahead of today’s game, the team asked me to stay calm and wait for the opportunity. When you are not calm you may even miss an easy chance to score. So I was totally focused today because my teammates kept telling me to absorb the pressure and enjoy the moment,” Karthi said.

 
Wave of attacks
While India did up their ante in the second quarter, Malaysia were equally up to it. But after the half-time, India appeared a totally different side. Composed at the back, with their midfielders providing enough support whenever Malaysia stepped forward, India launched a wave of attacks. Hardik Singh and Harmanpreet Singh scored via penalty corners as Malaysia’s shoulders began to drop. And having shown complacency during their fixture against China which saw them gift two goals, India were in no mood to relent as they netted two more as Gurjant Singh and Jugraj Singh put their name in the scoresheet.
“It is more about recovery and we were in Europe. This is Day 6 (since landing in India) now and we have started to recover to normal. We still have few guys with cramps and things like that but overall we are getting stronger and getting to recover which is good,” Fulton said about the performance.

More than the five goals India scored, Fulton would be proud of the show put their defenders. Having got good back up from the midfielders, the backline was hardly out of position as Malaysia could not even break India via counter-attacks. Even when Malaysia invited them into their own half, India’s backline hardly showed signs of accepting the invite.
“I like the cleansheets, I like the field goals, I like some balance in the PCs as well, so honestly it was a very good game for us. The backline was not perfect. We had two yellow cards, but we defended well, and there is still a lot to work on. We have got a great result with the phase we are in,” Fulton said.