Hockey Asia Cup 2025:  India returns to winning ways against Malaysia, inches closer to final spot

Indian men took a big step towards redemption and a spot in the final of the Hockey Asia Cup 2025 with a convincing 4-1 win against Malaysia in their second Super 4s match at the Rajgir Sports Complex here on Thursday.

The lessons from Wednesday’s disappointment were learnt along with a tweaking of the players’ roles. The result took India to the top of the table with four points, with China second on three, ahead of Malaysia on goal difference.

It will also hopefully ease the pressure on the team and coach Craig Fulton ahead of the final clash against China, with a draw likely to be enough to finish in the top two.

It wasn’t the best of starts when Shafiq Hassan dodged past Sanjay to enter and shoot past Krishan Pathak, unsighted by Sumit, in the 2nd minute. The Malaysians tried to press ahead, constantly cutting in from the left. The little things that didn’t work for India against Korea, including the connections inside the circle, came together on the day.

IN OTHER MATCHES: Depleted China stuns South Korea, Bangladesh powers past Kazakhstan

The build-up was patient, ground was taken control of gradually, and the opposition pushed back into its own space. Abhishek was pulled back into a feeder role, and Manpreet pushed ahead.

The pressure paid off in the second quarter with five back-to-back penalty corners in the 16th minute, the last of them resulting in a rebound slotted in by Manpreet for the equaliser. Two minutes later, Abhishek’s long pass to Shilanand Lakra was passed to Sukhjeet, who made it 2-1.

India was taking control of both the game and its pace even as Malaysia struggled to find any space. Another build-up in the 24th minute saw Sanjay’s long aerial from the left to Hardik in the middle of the ground, putting Dilpreet through before Lakra finished off, sliding to deflect into the net, making it 3-1.

Malaysia tried to regroup after the resumption and earned its only PC of the game, only for Pathak to stretch high and save. Manpreet’s combination with Sumit was effective, creating a PC and several scoring chances, one of them finally finding Vivek in front of the goal to simply deflect and make it 4-1, all but sealing the win.

Published on Sep 04, 2025