Ramandeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay scored in the third and 29th minute respectively to help India beat Malaysia 2-1 in the thrilling final of the Asia Cup hockey tournament at Dhaka, Bangladesh on Sunday.
CHAMPIONS! India clinch the coveted #HeroAsiaCup 2017 (Men) crown with a thrilling win over Malaysia on 22nd Oct.#INDvMAS #IndiaKaGame pic.twitter.com/iQde0JKZG3
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 22, 2017
For Malaysia, Shahril Saabah found the back of the net in the 50th minute to reduce the deficit. However, they failed to invade Indian defence thereafter and the final scoreline read 2-1 in the favour of Indian hockey team.
This was India’s third Asia Cup title as they previously won the crown in 2003 and 2007.
The five-time runners-up, India, seemed determined against Malaysia, who reached the Asia Cup final for the first time.
Earlier, Pakistan rode on a hat-trick by Ajaz Ahmad to demolish South Korea 6-3 and clinch the bronze medal at the Asia Cup.
Ahmad scored in the 10th, 30th and 36th minutes while Rashid Mehmood (26th) and Abu Mahmood (32th) also sounded the board for Pakistan.
Suk Hoon Cho (20th), Namyong Lee (43th) and Inwoo Seo (55th) scored for South Korea.