India captain Harmanpreet Singh acknowledged ‘deep camaraderie’ and ‘sense of unity’ as major factors that helped the team retain its Asian Champions Trophy in Hulunbuir, China on Tuesday.
The recording-extending fifth triumph came after a 1-0 win over host China, thanks to a goal from Jugraj Singh in the 51st minute.
“The Final was really intense; the Chinese were breathing down our necks throughout the game and made it really difficult for us to create a clear goalscoring chance but the team over the last year has built immense trust in each other,” Harmanpreet said in a Hockey India release.
“The Gold medal in last year’s Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai, the Gold medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Bronze from the Paris 2024 Olympics have instilled a deep camaraderie within the team; we are willing to die for one another. And it was this sense of unity reassuring us that we will find a way to win the game together,” the skipper added.
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The men’s team romped to victory in the Champions Trophy, scoring 26 goals in 7 games. Captain Harmanpreet contributed seven of those, all through Penalty Corners.
India had a comfortable passage in the initial round with dominant wins over China, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea before a heated 2-1 win over arch-rivals Pakistan.
“All the teams in the group stage were tough to play against. The Bronze medal from the Olympics painted a target on our backs; we were the team to beat. But every single person on the team stepped up to make it seem like we were cruising past our opponents,” Vice Captain Vivek Sagar Prasad said.
“We are proud to have retained our title but the work doesn’t stop now. We have areas we need to improve, we need to build depth in our squad as well. The Team will head back to camp after a short break and start preparing for the tournaments ahead to make our supporters proud again,” Harmanpreet added.
