India show character in ACT triumph

As the half-time hooter went in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy on Saturday, there was a hush at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai for the first time during an India match. The packed arena was silenced by a spirited Malaysian side, who came back from 0-1 to lead 3-1. After a near-perfect week for Harmanpreet Singh and Co, the final was not going to plan.

But at the end of third quarter, there was an incredible difference. The noise was deafening. In the last minute of the quarter, in the space of a few seconds, India went from 1-3 to 3-3. The AR Rahman concert that was to be held in the city that evening might have been cancelled but when his 'Vande Mataram' blared out in the 2-minute break, the crowd joined in on the chorus to make it a moment to remember.

The winner eventually came from Akashdeep Singh in the final quarter as India completed a stunning comeback to lift this trophy for the fourth time. There isn’t much of a roof at the venue, but there was proverbial lift-off.

A good hero requires a strong villain to shine. India’s second half fightback was impressive and only highlighted that the first half was poor on multiple fronts. They took the lead alright, but Malaysia’s pressing and counter-pressing caused the hosts problems aplenty.

For their part, many of the Indian players made basic errors they probably wouldn’t make even during training. Craig Fulton had a big task ahead at halftime. While he didn’t reveal what was said then, he explained that the turnaround was internal, that the players themselves were hurting.

Indeed, the Indians started the half with much higher intensity, pressing from the word go. And that soon changed the nervous silence in the stadium to chants of “India, India”. The team rallied, and the pressure in Q3 turned into goals. Shamsher Singh, Karthi Selvam and Sukhjeet Singh were at the heart of most things India did well going forward. Harmanpreet Singh scored from a penalty stroke, and within a few seconds Gurjant Singh drew India level.

“We had a really good game against Japan in the semifinal, it was a high-quality match. To back that up is really hard,” Fulton said. “Malaysia raised their game and controlled the first half. We didn’t do bad, but we were not 100% committed to what we were trying to do. Halftime came at a good time, we regrouped. I knew that if we could get one goal, it would bring two. It took a really key moment... from goal 2 to 3, that took the wind out of Malaysia's sails. Then it was a matter of time to get the winner.”

In the final quarter, India started from where they left off. The winning moment came from another player who, until then, hadn’t had the best of nights. Akashdeep’s strike with five minutes to go was a breathtaking hit from the edge of the circle and it capped off a remarkable night.

“The character of the team is great,” the chief coach said. “It is a really important step because you need to know that you can come from behind, as it’s easy to play when you are up by two or three goals. It's not easy to chase.”

India have covered quite a few scenarios during the course of their campaign in Chennai. While the second half augurs well for what they are capable of, the first half stands as a good reference point for what the team must avoid in Hangzhou where the stakes will be significantly higher.

“It’s important to have a game like this because it really counts,” Fulton added. “At the same time, this is not the Asian Games. So, our feet are firmly on the ground. But, if you said to me you'd win the Asian Games and lose this final, I would obviously say it's about winning the Games. It didn't go well in the first half and we turned it around. That's character. We are on a little journey at the moment, but we still got another step to go.”