Forward SK Uthappa summed up India’s 3-2 win over arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday in Malaysia brilliantly during an on-field interview post the final. After talking about the match for a minute or so, the Coorg player wished people back in India a happy Diwali and said: “It’s (the title triumph) a little gift on the occasion for the people of the country.”
With the win, India lifted the coveted Asian Champions Trophy for the second time. Their maiden title came in the inaugural edition in 2011. What made the victory sweeter was the fact that India dethroned reigning champions Pakistan to bring the trophy home.
For the record, Sunday’s appearance was India’s third in the final of the event. Coincidentally, they have met Pakistan in all the three finals losing only once in the 2012 edition.
Sreejesh unavailable as first quarter ends in a stalemate
The high-speed encounter at the Wisma Belia Stadium in Kuantan saw plenty of drama as Roelant Oltmans’ team took the field without their first-choice goalkeeper and the hero of their semi-final victory over a relentless South Korea, PR Sreejesh.
The absence of the Kerala player meant that Akash Chikte was entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding India’s goalpost in the all-important match.
It was learnt that the ace custodian picked a hamstring injury in the semi-final against Korea.
Spectators and viewers were served with another surprise when Jasjit Singh stepped up to drag flick instead of the in-form Rupinder Pal Singh after India earned their first penalty corner in the seventh minute. As luck would have it, the surprise move failed to bear fruit as Jasjit’s attempt went wide giving a big relief to Pakistan camp. The team went into the first break with the scoreboard reading 0-0.
Sardar turns out to be lynchpin
Senior player and former captain Sardar Singh brought in his vast experience into play in the second quarter. He controlled the ball in the midfield and kept feeding forwards clean passes. It was off one such pass that won India their second short corner of the game three minutes into the quarter. Unlike the first penalty corner, the responsibility was handed to the tried and trusted Rupinder Pal Singh, who in turn slotted into the top corner to give his team a 1-0 lead.
India got another close shot at the goal when brilliant stick work from Akashdeep Singh and Nikkin Thimmaiah gave Talwinder Singh an opportunity to shoot from the top of the circle but the shot went high.
Five minutes later, Sardar was again at his best, pinching the ball near the half-way line and passing it on to Ramandeep Singh at the right edge of the circle. Ramandeep shot it to the post and well-timed deflection from Affan Yousuf saw India go 2-0 up.
Fittingly, the former India captain won Player of the Final award for setting up goals for the team in the title clash.
Praise for Pakistan too
Former India goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi was all praise for Affan Yousuf and said the forward from Bhopal can go a long way. “He’s quick and complements the forward line well. He along with Nikin Thimmaiah, who scored the winner, and Lalit Upadhyay stood out with their performances in the tournament,” Negi told Scroll.
Rupinder took home the Top Scorer and Player of the Tournament trophies on Sunday. The drag-flicker was in the form of his life and he never let his teammates miss VR Raghunath, who skipped the tournament due to an injury. Surprised with the decision to let Jasjit take the first short corner, Negi asserted that the team management should have allowed Rupinder to take the flick.
Negi also sounded impressed with the young Pakistan team and said they put up a brave fight despite being quite inexperienced. “Making a comeback when you are 2-0 down takes a lot of effort. They did well to fight back and restore parity. Going into the tournament, sixth-ranked India were superior to other participating teams including Pakistan. We were expecting a one-sided final but the way Pakistan played deserves praise,” added Negi, whose life inspired the 2007 hit Chak De India.
India have reached three finals this year but have finally won one. They, however, lost to Australia on both the occasions. The world champions hammered India 4-0 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and then followed it up with a heartbreaking win in the Champions Trophy in London in the shootout. The title win in Kuantan, Malaysia gave India their first gold of the year.
Sources in the Indian team confirmed that the players will reassemble in Bangalore for the national camp starting on November 6 after a brief break. The team will fly for Delhi from Malaysia on Monday. India men’s and women’s teams will tour Australia for a Test series next month. The series is scheduled between November 23 and 30.
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