Asian Champions Trophy hockey 2023: India enjoys host advantage Premium

The Asian Champions Trophy comes to India for the first time, as the hosts look to set their Asian Games prep rolling.

Familiar territory: With the kind of resources available to the team and considering the recent performances against some of the top sides in the world, India will be the firm favourite to win the title. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Being a three-time champion, the highest ranked side in the competition, and the flag-bearer for the Asian continent in world hockey — the weight of expectations doesn’t get tougher for India, which is also a first-time host of the ACT in its seventh edition.

The tournament has been a mixed bag for India over the years — from winning the title in the initial years and proving its continental credentials in later editions to now using it as an experiment with an eye on bigger prizes. There was no medal in 2013 (when India sent a second-string side), while a bronze in the 2021 edition turned out to be an anti-climax, four months after the high of an Olympic medal.

With the kind of resources available to the team and considering the recent performances against some of the top sides in the world, India will be the firm favourite to win the title. It will come into the tournament straight from a four-nation Europe tour, with only a three-day gap between its last match in Spain and the first one at home against China — both in widely contrasting conditions against opponents at either end of the rankings.

Asian Champions Trophy record:

Titles: 3

Matches: 37

Won: 24

Drawn: 8

Lost: 5

Goals: 145

But the fact that the ACT will be followed by the Asian Games makes it a tricky outing for the host. Coach Fulton will have to play the balancing game — by going all out to win at home, testing his plans and players for the Asiad, keeping a few tricks up his sleeve for the big event and keeping a close eye on the other teams. That despite the progress made by the Indian team, both in terms of rankings and respect, in world hockey, it does not hold any continental crown at the moment should be a sobering thought for the players to avoid any complacency.

Keep an eye out for Selvam Karthi, the 21-year old who leads Tamil Nadu’s hopes of a hockey revival. To be playing at home, in a tournament that officials hope will mark the revival of the sport in the State, will be a huge honour for the youngster. In the Pro League games earlier this year and the Asia Cup last year, he has shown that he is not awed by names or the stage — his goals against teams like Germany and Belgium were results of a calm mind aided by excellent skills. Karthi is also the kind of poacher the Indian team had been missing for a while with his sense of positioning and ability to find the scoring angles inside the circle.