Defending champions India qualified for the semifinal of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament after thrashing Malaysia 8-1 for their third successive preliminary round win, here on Wednesday. India began their title defence in China with a 3-0 win over the hosts before hammering Japan 5-1 on Monday.
Raj Kumar Pal (3rd, 25th and 33rd minute), Araijeet Singh Hundal (6th and 39th minute), Jugraj Singh (7th minute), Harmanpreet Singh (22nd minute), and Uttam Singh (40th minute) sounded the board for India.
For Malaysia, Akhimullah Anuar (34th minute) managed the solitary strike. India are currently on top of the standings with nine points from three wins.
India, at one point, looked good to better their best-ever win over Malaysia (14-2 in 1954) as they had racked up eight goals in the first three quarters. With the win over Malaysia, India completed a hat-trick of wins in the 2024 edition of the Asian Champions Trophy.
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.
