China lost to India 1-0 in the men’s field hockey Asian Champions Trophy final in Hulunbuir, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Tuesday. Despite the defeat, China’s runner-up performance marked the country’s best-ever showing at the tournament, after finishing in the top four in 2012 and 2013.
Jugraj Singh scored the only goal of the game in the 51st minute to help India lift the Asian Champions Trophy for the fifth time.
Chinese goalkeeper Wang Weihao was a key contributor to the home side’s defense, after preventing the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics bronze medalists from scoring in the first half on shots from Sukhjeet Singh, Raj Kumar Pal and Nilakanta Sharma.
China’s defense was both solid and smart as the team allowed a couple of penalty corners in the first half, but none in the second.
Harmanpreet Singh launched an attack from the left flank and sprinted to the baseline with nine minutes remaining. He then passed to Jugraj Singh near the penalty spot and the 27-year-old scored the decisive goal to secure India’s victory.