Hockey: Harmanpreet Singh’s hat-trick helped India beat Malaysia 4-2 in the Asian Champions Trophy

JALANDHAR: India cruised to a 4-2 win over Malaysia in an enthralling match in the penultimate league match of the Asian Champions Trophy here on Sunday. Captain Harmanpreet Singh led from the front with a hat-trick.India started confidently against Malaysia and took the lead in the third minute when Harmanpreet pulled powerfully to find the net. India had chances to increase the lead but failed to convert them. The home side showed impressive composure and control, moving the ball with precision and dictating the tempo with passing. Up front, India had to do without in-form striker Abhishek, who picked up an injury during the warm-up.The match turned into a penalty corner battle, with Malaysia piling on the pressure and earning three. However, Indian goalkeeper Krishan Pathak stood tall at the post. However, the Malaysian pressure paid off in the end. Akhimullah Anuar found his way through the Indian defense in the 26th minute to level the scores.India came out firing in the third quarter and put the Malaysian defense under sustained pressure. A penalty corner won by Sukhjeet Singh created a chance and Harmanpreet unleashed a trademark drag-flick to restore India’s lead. Malaysia’s Faiz Jali was booked for a tackle on Mandeep and India took the man advantage when Sukhjeet Singh unleashed a reverse move from Hardik’s pass to extend the lead. With two minutes to go, India found a fourth goal, Harmanpreet completing his hat-trick by converting a penalty kick.Shello Silverius added a consolation for Malaysia a minute later.Other results: Korea: 5 ( Park Geunwoo 7.34; Son Dain 17, 32, 51) bt Bangladesh 0; Japan: 2 (Raiki Fujishima 48; Yuma Nagai 48) drew with China 2 (Zhang Jialiang 8; Chen Benhai 60)