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Sep
11
Written by:
Sundeep Misra
Sunday, September 11, 2011
South Korea 2 China 1
Malaysia 1 Japan 0
India 4 Pakistan 2
Indian goalkeeper S Sreejes was the star for India as he saved twice in the shoot-out to ensure India won the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy here on Sunday.
After a titanic struggle that lasted 70 minutes and then 15 minutes of extra time, it came down to the penalty shoot-out. It wasn’t strokes taken from the spot but goals were to be scored in a one-to-one situation with the goalkeeper. India started the shoot-out on a wrong note when Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Shah saved the shot from Gurwinder Singh Chandi. Indian goalkeeper Sreejes then came to the fore with a save off Haseem Abdul Khan. It was then Danish Mujtaba’s turn and he neatly went past Shah to open the score sheets as India led 1-0. Pakistan equalized when Muhammad Rizwan scored past Sreejes.
Indian captain Rajpal Singh went up close to Shah and slotted the ball below his pads for India to lead 2-1. Then came the crucial save by Sreejes as he stopped Shafqat Rasool from scoring, advancing and taking the shot on the pads. Yuvraj Walmiki made it 3-1 and the Pakistan veteran Waseem Ahmed cut the scores to 3-2 but Sarvanjit Singh’s conversion past Shah ensured India ran out champions.
Earlier, in the match, India and Pakistan both had ample opportunities to finish the match in regulation time. Pakistan earned seven penalty corners to India’s one but couldn’t beat the Indian defence and the goalkeeper Sreejes. The final was marred, however, by the Pakistan coach who standing on the roof of the stadium abused Indian players constantly. Whenever there was an infringement from the Indian side, he used the ‘F’ word liberally. And whenever the umpires blew against India, he hollered, ‘Thank You.’ Since Independence, this was the first instance of a Pakistan coach abusing Indian players during a match.
Pakistan played full press in the first half pushing the Indian defence back. Shakeel Abassi made some fine runs into the Indian striking circle as V Raghunath stood out with his tackling and clearances.
The Indian forwards had a couple of counter-attacks which the Pakistan defence managed to clear. It was a tense match with a few skirmishes between the players. SV Sunil was the first to be shown the green card for a rough tackle. Pakistan had their first penalty corner in the 14th minute which Sreejes charged out and saved. India was losing the ball consistently in the midfield. The players were hasty and didn’t keep the ball to ensure the pass went right. In the 29th minute, India had their first penalty corner but Ignace Tirkey failed to trap wasting the opportunity.
Pakistan had a bunch of penalty corners in the second half and can only blame themselves for letting the match drift to the shoot-out. They couldn’t score off the 41st, 47th and 48th minute short corners.
With 14 minutes of regulation time left, Danish Mujtaba had only Shah in front but couldn’t place the ball and shot wide. In the 60th and 62nd minutes, Pakistan again wasted three penalty corners.
India could have clinched the issue in the 65th minute but Yuvraj Walmiki shot out from handshaking distance.
After a tense struggle in 15 minutes of extra time, it finally came down to the shoot-out where Indian goalkeeper Sreejes carried his good form and ensured India won the Asian Champions Trophy 4-2.
Indian coach Michael Nobbs was almost in tears and said, “This is a great win. Both teams played well and had enough chances. But it is fantastic to see an young Indian side with such a prestigious tournament.”
Earlier in the day, Firhan Ashari scored with exactly seven seconds on the clock as Malaysia broke down the Japanese resistance to win the bronze medal here On Sunday. This was Japan’s second consecutive defeat to Malaysia in the tournament. On Friday, Japan led 2-0 and set for a place in the final but Malaysia scored thrice in the second half to destroy the Japanese dream.
Japan had the upper hand in the first half as Malaysia was a little slow of the blocks. They missed openings and also fumbled with passes in the midfield. The Japanese had their chances but couldn’t convert the two penalty corners they earned in the first half.
In the second half, Malaysia threw in more players upfront and played aggressively. They came close thrice but the alert Japanese defence thwarted the sublime moves.
After Malaysia wasted their first penalty corner of the match in the 52nd minute, Japan had their third in the 60th minute as a trapping error ensured Malaysia build a counter-attack. After missing out on their second penalty corner in the 63rd minute, Malaysia went for broke and used both the flanks to stretch the Japanese defence. Just when it seemed that the match would go into extra-time, Malaysia moved in from the right flank and cross found Firhan Ashari on top of the circle. He tapped the ball to his left and with a powerful reverse shot beat the Japanese goalkeeper. Jubilant Malaysian players celebrated their bronze medal while the Japanese crumbled on the turf completely shocked by the last second match-winner.
South Korea avoided the wooden spoon beating hosts China 2-1 in the play-offs for the 5th/6th spot in the Asian Champions Trophy here on Sunday. China, hoping to avoid a miserable run-in the championships couldn’t beat a determined Korean side desperately trying to avoid the last spot.
Korea scored their opening goal in the tenth minute when Jong Hyun Jang converted a penalty corner. The lead was enhanced in the 28th minute when Ju Hun Kim slammed in a field effort after the ball had rebounded off a Chinese defenders stick.
At the break, Korea led 2-0.
China managed to score a consolation goal in the 62nd minute after Korea had downed the shutters defending resolutely. Yixian Liu powered in a penalty corner but Korea managed to hold onto their one goal lead and clinch the match.
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35 comment(s) so far...
Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Thanks youngbloods, we love you dears....
Please kept this spirit in to your heart , You are the real Hero's....
Sorry its not in the most popular game of the nation, but this happened in our national game....
By kiran Iglesias on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Thanks Youngbloods,
You are the real heros of the Nation
Sorry its not in the most popular game of the nation, but this happened in our national game....
By kiran Iglesias on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
WELL DONE TEAM INDIA U MAKE US PROUD
By SHEKHAR SHARMA on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Congratulation Mr. Michael Nobbs and players for winning 1stAsian Champions Trophy it is long waiting victory, hope it is just the beginning of many many……..many more achievements to follow
ALL THE BEST FOR FUTURE tournament
By Ramakrishnan on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Congratulation to team,staff and fans around the world.
By raj on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Hello Sundeep,
A well deserved victory for our young team. Good show guys, you have done us proud. Fabulous reporting Sundeepbhai, you have done us proud too. Now for the Olympic qualifiers !!
Nikhilesh
By Nikhilesh Roy on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Thanks TEAM India for making us proud once again
but i am very much upset after hearing the news of shoes of our players
i urge our sports department of India to provide better facilities to all the players
By Manmeet singh on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Congratulations Taem India & the coching staff.
By Devinder Basra on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Hi to all veteran players,
Hearty congratulations to all.. am a great fan of hockey, sad that its not that commercialised like cricket... but thats the true sport.. Love Hockey, Love Indian Team...
Die hard fan of DHANRAJ PILLAY
This winning streak should continue..
By Jayanth on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Indians have done it! They are Asian Champions! Thanks to their new coach Michael, who has brought in a professional touch to the new talented lot. I sincerely pray that the status of the Indian Hockey Team rises. They are treated at par to the Indian Cricket Team. They should stay in 5 Star Hotels, travel by Air to their destinations, be paid very well, and not scrounge around to make two ends meet, as is their state presently. An autonomous Hockey body should be formed which should genuinely revisit the problems facing Indian Hockey and rectify it.
By Sanjay Thakur on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
hi to alll young indian team,
india won the asian champions trophy so i am very thankful the indian choach he work very hard for the alll indian hockey team players
By amandeep singh dhot on
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Wonderful news. Now we move from strength to strength.
This win proves that we have the talent and the bench strength. Just needed a little planning and motivation. Nobbs is obviously good for the team and he knows what to do with them. The players also know how to play!!
About the Pak coach hollering invectives, forget him, leave him to his dusty fate. He must have got excited, but finally India won and thats what matters.
Now the team should be well taken care of -- money, facilities, right training etc etc. We must ensure podium finishes in all tournaments. It is a good habit to cultivate.
Now a few questions for you, Sundeep:
* Why was this place selected as the venue for the tournament -- why not some place in India, pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, Korea.... Why not in Beijing??
I mean, why this desolate end-of-the-earth location? Whom did this help?
* Did other countries telecast the matches live?
* Who represented the Indian federation offically?
* Was the standard of the play world class? How would you compare this to the Champions Trophy?
* What are the deficiencies of this team that needs to be plugged?
* Is this tournament important in international rankings?
* What is the next tournament?
* What has been planned for India? is there any type of creative team involved in the planning and propaganda of the sport? Is any ad agency involved, any sponsor?
* What is Negre planning to do to popularise hockey in India and worldwide?
Jai Hind!
By Rajendar Menen on
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Rajendar,
Thanks all of you for the support. You guys make this worthwhile. Will answer the questions in a day. Would also be putting out a largish interview of Nobbs and the other support staff. Plus the role of David John in getting these players fit, match after match.
By Sundeep Misra on
Monday, September 12, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Hi Sandeep,
Thanks a million for covering the matches for die-hard fans of Indian hockey. You did an awesome job. I humbly request you revamp this website to make it more user-friendly for fans like me.
Thanks a ton!
Regards,
Kishor
By Kishor on
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
pls show my mail and the questions. i want to share these concerns with everyone who reads the site and comments on the matches. we need an anna style revolution in indian hockey.
By rajendar menen on
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Congrats to Indian Hockey Team...Keep it up and always be a champion...
By K on
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
mari or se yuvraj valmiki ko or puri team ko badhai.............thanks
By vipin valmiki on
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Thanks sundeep sir for detail reports of all matches. keep the good work going ! Looking forward for interview of Nobbs and report on David John's work.
Ankit
By Ankit on
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Contradulations to the team, staff and thanks for making us pround.
By Sharath on
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Kishor,
Your request is valid. Rewamp is already under way. In a month or less, you will see a new user-friendly website.
tks for the support
By Sundeep Misra on
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Congrats to Indian players and the coaches. Great job guys. Nation is proud of you all. Keep up the good work. This is a result of team work, spirit, courage and pride in representing the country. Boys stuck togather as a team. Bravo. Remember this is the first step towards the Olympics. Enjoy and have fun today. Keep your self humble and work hard towards achieving your goal. Team have shown unity, fighting spirit, & pride. Seniors should learn from them. We shouldn't bring the seniors back if they are not going to be a team player. We don't want those player who thinks their egos are more bigger than the nation. Players who have no team spirit and no pride in representing the country should not play for the nation.There is no "I" in the team sports. No player is bigger than the game. Keep the core togather. There are going to be some ups and down in the future but once again you learn from your mistakes. Once again congratulation to boys and the coaches for job well done. Keep up the momentum and stay focus. What a great day? I wish you all the best in the future.
Thanks sundeep for detail reports of all matches. keep the good work.
By Rick on
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
You can see from all the mails, Sundeep, that Indian hockey has a good following. I suggest you keep updating this site on a regular basis as this is the only place we get to hear about the game. Someone can sponsor this site too, I am sure.
Waiting for your answers to my questions. I also feel that it is high time Indian hockey recruit a media cell. These days it is all about publicity. Every moron and his left arm is a celebrity.
I also feel that DD and the government have a great role to play. There is so much that can be done. Why isn't it being done?? Please enlighten me. it is much simpler than checking street hawking!
Jai Hind!
By rajendar menen on
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Sundeep,
Do you or Amitesh have any video clip of the Pakistani coach shouting F words at our boys ? put it on you tube, let it go viral. Let the world see this pathetic specimen of negative sportsman spirit.
Nikhilesh
By Nikhilesh Roy on
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Hi Nikhilesh,
In the next few hours, that video will be on the website.
By Sundeep Misra on
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Rajendar,
I am trying to ensure that the website is updated regularly. Will try and take out some time everyday. Also in the next 30 days, the site will get a new look with videos and audio players so that apart from text, we cal also get into spheres. I am seriously trying to get some internet rights to do Live matches on the website. it's more helpful to do Live hockey either on audio or video.
By Sundeep Misra on
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
for nikhilesh -- dont want to elaborate on this topic as it gets too political but pakistan has been globally recognised as a rogue state and a hotbed of terrorism. what do you expect from their hockey coach??? we sliced them into two bits in 1971 and thrashed them in every other engagement. now the rest of the world will slice them further.
And sundeep, yes, please get videos of the matches. i want to see them; india wants to see them. why dont you give them to dd. they can keep showing them as they keep showing the asian games!!!
Jai Hind!
By rajendar menen on
Friday, September 16, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
GOOD GOING.... INDIA,,,, BEST OF LUCK....
By AJEET on
Friday, September 16, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Will we be able to see anytime in our life time, India team winning any medal in either world cup or Olympic or even Champions Trophy. Big Big Big Question ?
By Shivam on
Friday, September 16, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
If i talk about just the play, or the way Indian Hockey plays against big teams, does anybody have the answer that why we are not convincing, and this has continued from the last 20 odd years. Everytime you see either in World Cup or Olympic, Pakistan doing better than India, why? What's the basic problem? Australia now a days is such an electirfying team that no other team is able to catch them, why? what they do? Do we have the answer?
By Shivam on
Friday, September 16, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Hi Shivam,
It's not about the Olympics or the WC. Pakistan has had better players when Shahbaz Ahmed was there - Wasim Feroze, Tahir Zaman with him. Even we have beaten Pakistan in the World Cup and only recently in New Delhi. I think the issue is about consistency when you look overall at everything. No consistency in administration, coaching and nothing at all for junior and sub-juniors - there is no programme at all. The sport is surviving and winning because the players still want to go, play and win. No thanks to the administrators. But it needs to change. Professionalism needs to come in and the parasites that rule Indian hockey at the moment should leave and go. But would they? The players will not get paid but the administrators get paid every month.
By Shivam on
Friday, September 16, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Sundeep,
Can you please put video clips of final mahch.
By raj on
Saturday, September 17, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Congratulations friends. There is bright future for Indian hockey. Please do such wonderful things. The common Indian is with you.
By MJ Kaledhonkar on
Saturday, September 17, 2011
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India Hockey Rockz......
Great Show team....we are proud of you........!Keep winning and All the best
By shravan on
Saturday, September 17, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
For Rajender, Thank you four posts and incisive questions and comments. Add to this Sundeep's fabulous coverage and replies - well Indian hockey is alive and kicking. I would have thought that everyone would kep politics out of sports. But as the Pakistani coach has shown ........
Sundeep, tell us everything about our youngsters.
Cheers.
Nikhilesh
By Nikhilesh Roy on
Saturday, September 17, 2011
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Re: Sreejes ensures India lift Asian Champions Trophy
Hi Raj,
We will make a ten minute highlights pkg and put it on. Hope you like the match even though it was goalless. I thought it was one of the most intense matches I have seen. The camera work is by Amitesh of nnis sports. Most of the interviews that you saw during the Asian Champions Trophy were done by Amitesh.
By Sundeep Misra on
Saturday, September 17, 2011
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