Asian Champions Trophy 2023 Highlights Day 3: India wins 5-0; Korea-China, Pakistan-Japan share spoils

What a way to bounce back from the 1-1 draw against Japan. India took time to getting rolling but put on a show for the packed Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium today. Karthi Selvam, Harmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Jugraj Singh and Gurjant Singh were the scorers for India.

The floodgates have been opened! India gets a fifth goal. It’s again come from a penalty corner and Jugraj Singh finds his name on the score sheet. A drag flick packed with a punch straight into the net.

Shamsher Singh has another chance but his shot from the centre of the circle is saved.

Mandeep feeds a sitter for Gurjant. The forward slaps it to the far post from the left side of the circle. Gurjant is waiting for a tap in and makes no error.

The second PC also yields nothing for the home team after the first rusher squeezes out the space against Harmanpreet.

The first penalty corner for India in the quarter.

Harmanpreet sends its wide and India cannot add a fourth.

HARMANPREET SINGH! The India captain finally gets on the scoresheet. His drag flick is aimed at the right side of goal, takes a deflection of the post man’s stick and rattles the net.

Gurjant now enters the circle from the right side and wins a short corner.

Gurjant Singh is unmarked in the circle. But the Malaysia defence is quick in covering back. The India forward still manages to play a pass across the goal but not stick meets it.

India concedes a goal via a penalty corner. The drag flick from the Malaysia player is deemed dangerous upon a referral as it passes India’s first rusher over his knee. The score stays 2-0!

India strikes early in the second half. Harmanpreet Singh’s penalty corner is saved by Hafizuddin Othman. But the rebound falls kindly for Hardik who drags into the net.

It’s been one way traffic till now. But Craig Fulton would realise his side has not scored enough. That will be the priority when the second period begins. Sitting on a 1-0 lead, against the Speedy Tigers is never an option.

A chance squandered by India at the very end. Vivek Sagar Prasad enters the circle with India on the counter. He has options to his left and right but decides to take on the defender. The Malaysian player does enough to not allow a straight forward shot and the chance goes begging.

Chance! Akashdeep Singh tries a half-hearted shot at goal. But he is crowded out and too far from the goal to pose a challenge.

Shamsher Singh’s injection to the circle is miscued. India is not even able to egt a shot let alone a drag flick.

Karthi Selvam, with a dart into the circle from the right, wins a short corner for India.

Harmanpreet Singh launches forward on a counter. He plays it to Gurjant on his left whose final pass into the circle is intercepted.

The second quarter gets underway.

Karthi Selvam gives the lead to India. A swipe from the edge of the circle in the closing seconds of the quarter. He traps a slap shot from Harmanpreet, takes it to his left and takes a shot.

Six minutes into the game, India controlling the pace. Malaysia did have a couple of entries into the circle but the home team has been untroubled.

India with the first chance! Sukhjeet Singh takes a swipe at goal but the ball goes wide of the right post.

The final match of the day is underway at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium.

India: Varun Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Mandeep Singh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak (GK), Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh

Malaysia: Marhan Jalil, Faizal Saari, Firhan Ashari, Razie Rahim, Faiz Jali, Azuan Hasan, Hafizuddin Othman (GK), Abu Kamal Azrai, Najmi Jazlan, Muhammad Hassan, Amirul Azahar

Loud cheers go around the stadium as the Indian team enters the pitch to go through their drills.

The Indian team goes into a huddle before going on a jog around the pitch. It’s a must-win game for India after a disappointing draw against Japan on Friday.

Points shared at the end of a six goal thriller. Not sure who would be happy with that point, probably Pakistan, but both teams would be disappointed at how they squandered their leads in the final half of the match.

Japan’s final shot in the final seconds goes wide of goal. It looked like they wanted a referral but it won’t be the case.

Genki Mitani flashes the ball into the circle where Kato couldn’t redirect it towards goal.

GOAAL! Muhammad Khan has done it again! His dragflick is fired into the roof of the net and Yoshikawa has no chance! What a game we have had so far and we have 5 more minutes left of it.

Pakistan gets a penalty corner with 5 minutes left.

Pakistan squanders the penalty corner as Khan looked to find the deflection of his teammate in the circle but ball goes out of play.

Pakistan wins the ball inside Japan’s half and spring a 4 v 4 counter attack with Hayat on the ball. He plays it to Liaqat on the right but is closed down but he manages to strike the foot of a defender. Pakistan gets a PC, Japan goes for the review and loses it. Decision stands.

GOAL! Japan takes the lead through Masaki Ohashi! The hooter went off before the ball sounded the board. Nagayoshi’s dragflick is deflected into the path of Masaki, who fired in the rebound. What a way for Japan to go into the interval between quarters. Pakistan would be deflated. Similar mistakes have crept in.

Another PC for Japan in this quarter and fifth in this 15 minutes of action. Pakistan calls for a review. Pak loses its referral.

Ken Nagayoshi’s penalty corner bobbled its way towards goal but Akmal puts it wide with his foot.

Japan gets another PC after the ball struck the foot of a Pakistan defender just inside the circle.

16-year-old Muhammad Ammad gets a green card for a foul and will sit out for 2 minutes.

Apart from the opening minute of the quarter, it’s been all Korea and has deservedly found the equaliser. Four minutes left.

Another ball from the right finds Kosei Kawabe but his effort is saved by keeper.

GOAL! Japan equalise and its Kato with the goal! Takuma Niwa with a superb run near the baseline before making a cutback to find Kato, who tomahawks it into the board!

This time Japan gets its penalty corner after Ryosei Kato’s run into the circle with the ball touches the foot of a Pakistani player. The ensuing PC strikes the foot of a defender. The second PC earns a third PC.... Another foot in the way. Akmal Hussain makes a save this time before the ball is cleared away.

Penalty corner appeals from Japan and it gets its way, Pakistan asks for a video referral. Pakistan overturns the decision after replay shows the ball struck a Japan’s Takuma Niwa’s foot first.

Zikriya Hayat looks to place through a crowded defence but is cut out.

Players make their way out for the second half and Pakistan switches ends to get this underway.

Not a lot between the two teams here but Pakistan does have an extra oomph in attack. Pakistan has let its lead slip in its last game after taking the lead. Muhammad Saqlain would want his men to not repeat the same mistakes again.

Scintillating hockey from Pakistan. Shahid goes off on one from the right, plays in Rana, who turns towards goal and returns the pass into Shahid’s path in the circle. The attacker’s touch goes narrowly goes wide of goal. Earns a round of applause from the Chennai crowd.

GOAL! Muhammed Khan (15) scores! Finally! Just as I say he has been disappointing, Khan fires a short corner through the keeper’s legs! Khan has his arms stretched out skywards ala Shahid Afridi. A sense of relief for the youngster as his teammates engulf him.

Another penalty corner after Muhammed Khan (19) strikes the foot of a Korean defender.

First PC of the match goes to Pakistan. Muhammed Khan’s poor run from the short corner continues. He dragflicks with a great deal of power but is off target. Pakistan has failed to convert its 13 short corners in the tournament so far.

Pakistan comes out flying in the second quarter with Arshad Liaqat’s piercing run through the middle but his tomahawk effort gets a big deflection and goes over the goal.

GOAL! Japan equalise in the 13th minute and it’s the skipper Seren Tanaka! Quick response from Japan. The ball is played into Nagai, who switches to the left, in the circle. Nagai tomahawks it into the edge of the goal where Tanaka has the simple task of deflecting it into the board.

GOAL! PAKISTAN 1-0 in the 9th minute! Abdul Rana with the goal! Japanese defense all over the place with Muhammad Khan’s run into the circle. Khan couldn’t control the ball which saw Japanese keeper Yoshikawa rush out to clear it but it fell kindly for Rana to fire home.

Japan work the ball from the left and fires a pass into the circle which somehow finds an unmarked Yuma Nagai, whose shot is saved by Akmal Hussain.

Pakistan has started brightly here with a melee ensuing in the Japanese circle before the danger is averted. Pakistan is moving the ball quickly in the early exchanges.

Korea in red gets things started from right to left.

It’s time for the national anthems. Loud round of applause for both Pakistan and the Japanese teams and we are just 120 seconds before tip-off.

Pakistan and Japan are going through their warm-ups with the locals having a party in the south stand.

Pakistan: Akmal Hussain, Muhammad Abdullah, Ahtisham Aslam, Aqeel Ahmad, Arshad Liaqat, Abdul Rana, Abdul Shahid, Zikirya Hayat, Umar Bhutta (C), Muhammad Khan, Afraz

Japan: Takashi Yoshikawa, Kosei Kawabe, Shota Yamada, Seren Tanaka, Kentaro Fukuda, Taiki Takade, Takuma Niwa, Manabu Yamashita, Ken Nagayoshi, Genki Mitani, Masaki Ohashi (C)

China gets its first points on the board! Korea goes above India for the moment with 5 points and is unbeaten in 3 matches.

Korea nearly gets a winner with 41 seconds left. A darting run from the right into the middle from Cheoleon but his cutback is deflected behind.

A third penalty corner for Korea. Jang is set up in the second battery where he fires it into his teammate but the deflection doesn’t find the target.

Jang nearly gets a second. The Korean skipper dragged it wide before firing it at the near post but Caiyu was alert to get his foot to it. Five minutes to go.

Korea ask for a referral claiming Du Shihao intentionally put the ball out of bounds. The referral is successful. Korea get a PC!

Korea’s Lee Juyong fires a ball into the circle but it misses the stick of two Korean teammates with Kim Junghoo failing to connect on the slide.

In the other end, E Wenhui doesn’t trap the ball inside the circle with just the keeper to beat. End to end at the moment.

Korea on the attack at the start of the final quarter. Cheoleon Park finds Ji Woo Cheon in the circle, who holds off the defender before firing a shot with his back to the goal, which gets the slightest of touches from the padding of Caiyu.

We go level into the fourth quarter. China would be pleased with how they have played so far after having conceded 12 goals in the first two matches. They haven’t given Korea time on the ball inside their own half.

GOAL! Chen Chongchong equalises for China! From the restart, Pan Dongquan deflects a pass to the backpost where an unmarked Chen slots it past the keeper in the 43rd minute. A second goal in as many games for Chen!

Shihao Du is found on the right but he is quickly closed down. Du goes for a cross-shot from outside the circle which goes harmlessly behind the goal. Four minutes left in the quarter.

The Pakistan players have taken their seats next to the media tribune in the Kalaignar Centenary Pavillion.

The second half is underway and Sunghyun Kim forces a save from Wang in the 33rd minute.

The lights are on and with near-packed stands with the Sunday crowd coming in numbers.

Korea has largely enjoyed possession and hasn’t given much space to China to get behind them in defence. The hooter goes off for half-time. Korea will be happy but will want to kill the game with a couple of goals in the second half. Just the one penalty corner in the game so far. We will back in 10 minutes for the second period.

Korea’s Jigwang Hyun dribbles into the circle and goes down asking for a penalty corner but the referee waves away the appeals. China breaks forward in the counter with Qijun Chen running through the right side but his snapshot to the far post doesn’t find a teammate.

GOAAL! KOREA! It’s the captain, Jang Jonghyun! 16 years on from his first tournament here in India, the 37-year-old converts the penalty corner, with the help of a deflection!

First penalty corner of the match goes to Korea after a Chinese defender pushes the ball over the baseline.

The ball finds its way to Ji Woo Chen inside the circle but he is closed down before he could get his shot away.

Korea nearly with the breakthrough with four minutes left in the quarter. The Koreans swifty move from left to right before finding Hyeuseung again on the right. Hyeuseung dribbles his way past a couple of Chinese defenders and into the circle but couldn’t find his teammate with his pass.

Most of China’s attacking patterns have gone through the left side.

China has started with more possession here. Korea plays a long ball to the right where Lee Hyeseung attempts a speculative shot at goal, which lacks the power. Caiyu Wang kicks it out.

China tip off from right to left in their full red kit, while Korea is in blue.

The Korean community from Velacherry is back to show their support after the

opening day. They are spread around the north and south stands today.

China is yet to get off the mark in the Asian Champions Trophy after two hammerings against India and Malaysia. Both China and Korea are going through their final paces as we inch closer to tip-off.

The sweltering heat has given way to some evening breeze coming in from the east.

Korea: Jaehyeon Kim, Manjae Jung, Dain Son, Jungjun Lee, Woo Cheon Ji, Cheoleon Park, Hyeseung Lee, Sunghyun Kim, Seunghoon Lee, Hyeongjin Kim, Jonghun Jang (C)

China: Caiyu Wang, Qijun Chen, Chengfu Chen, Jiesheng Gao, Wenhui E, Chongcong Chen, Zixiang Guo, Shihao Du, Changliang Lin (C), Lei Meng, Ao Weibao

Korea drew with Pakistan 1-1

Malaysia beat China 5-1

India drew with Japan 1-1

Korea beat Japan 2-1

Malaysia beat Pakistan 3-1

India beat China 7-2

Where to watch the live telecast of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 matches?

The Asian Champions Trophy 2023 matches will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network in India.

Where to live stream the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 matches?

The Asian Champions Trophy 2023 matches will be live streamed on the Fancode mobile app.

Korea vs China - 04:00 PM IST

Pakistan vs Japan - 06:15 PM IST

India vs Malaysia - 08:30 PM IST