Skipper Harmanpreet Singh credited India's recent success to strong team camaraderie, emphasising that their deep bond and willingness to "die for one another" helped them overcome China to win the Hero Asian Champions Trophy for a record-extending fifth time. (More Sports News)
India rode on Jugraj Singh's late strike to defeat China 1-0 in a tense final in Hulunbuir on Tuesday. Pakistan won the bronze medal with a 5-2 win over South Korea.
바카라The 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 goal scoring chance,바카라 Harmanpreet said in a Hockey India release.
"But the team over the last year has built immense trust in each other. We are willing to die for one another. It was this sense of unity reassuring us that we will find a way to win the game together.바카라
Harmanpreet said India's successful run in last one year has instilled a strong belief among players.
바카라The gold medal in last year바카라s 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."
Harmanpreet, who has been shortlisted for FIH's Player-of-the-Year Award after scoring 10 goals at Paris, once again led from the front as the team remained unbeaten in the competition.
Out of India's 26 goals in the competition, Harmanpreet scored seven and all were from penalty corners.
Harmanpreet said it is now crucial for India to keep building on the success.
"We are proud to have retained our title but the work doesn바카라t stop now,바카라 he said.
바카라We 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,바카라 he added.
India vice-captain Vivek Sagar Prasad said the Olympics bronze medal made India the 바카라team to beat바카라 in the tournament.
바카라All 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,바카라 he said.
바카라But every single person on the team stepped up to make it seem like we were cruising past our opponents. The youngsters slotted in seamlessly, Krishan and Suraj alternated to bail us out of tricky situations."
바카라The defenders remained reliable, and the midfielders and forwards ran riot on the pitch. All in all, it was very enjoyable,바카라 he added.
