Asian Champions Trophy: Led by young strikers, India aims to maintain winning run against Malaysia

India’s new-found ability to score field goals will be crucial as the defending champion will look to extend its winning streak when it faces Malaysia in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Wednesday.

Field goal conversion was a key concern during India’s bronze medal-winning campaign at the Paris Olympics last month, where it netted 15 goals but managed only three from open play.

It even prompted the legendary goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who retired after the Games, to stress the need for improvement in this area.

“If we are thinking about the next level for the Indian hockey team and want to consistently win Olympic medals, we need to score more field goals because our defence has its limitations,” Sreejesh had remarked.

Coming into the tournament after securing its successive bronze wins at the Olympics, India is looking like a more enterprising side, grabbing opportunities up front with a rock-solid defence in place.

India started its title defence with a 3-0 win over host China before thrashing Japan 5-1 in its next league match on Monday.

Out of the eight goals India has scored, seven have come from open play, with young drag-flicker Sanjay converting a penalty corner against Japan.

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Young striker Sukhjeet Singh, who was part of the Paris Olympics squad, has been phenomenal, scoring three field goals, while Abhishek and Uttam Singh have added two each from open play.

Going by world status and current form, India is favourite to reclaim the title having won the tournament four times before.

The first two matches witnessed strong performances from the young Indian forwards, which meant star drag-flicker and skipper Harmanpreet Singh had to do very little so far.

In contrast, last-edition’s runner-up Malaysia is languishing at the penultimate position with one loss and a draw.

Despite the strong start, the Indians can ill afford to take any side lightly as they begin a new Olympic cycle.

India’s new first goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak, who replaced the talismanic Sreejesh following his retirement after the Paris Games, too had a decent outing so far in the tournament, conceding just one goal.

After the round-robin league among the six teams, the top-four sides will qualify for the semifinals to be played on September 16.

The final is scheduled for September 17.