Muscat, October 23: India will be hoping to maintain the winning streak and will have revenge on their mind as they take on Malaysia in the Asian Champions Trophy tie in Oman's capital city on Tuesday (October 23).
India have so far remained unbeatean in the tournament, hammering hosts Oman 11-0 in the opening encounter, followed by a resounding 3-1 win against archrivals Pakistan and a 9-0 rout of Japan.
Against Malaysia, India have a point to prove as they suffered a shock defeat at their hands in the Asian Games semifinals.
The Indian Men’s Hockey Team will take on Malaysia in their fourth match of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2018 on 23rd October 2018. Catch the action LIVE on @StarSportsIndia 2/2HD from 10:40 PM (IST) tomorrow!#IndiaKaGame #HeroACT2018 #INDvMAS pic.twitter.com/c1J4O67sM2
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 22, 2018
They had maintained a clean slate in the group stages of the Jakarta Games and were the overwhelming favourites to win the title before Malaysia stunned them in a last-four encounter.
The Asiad disappointment still "haunts" and captain Manpreet Singh had said on the eve of team's departure to Muscat that they will have to approach and play each and every game cautiously in the Asian Champions Trophy.
"It was a tournament we should have won and the disappointment of losing to Malaysia in the semifinal still haunts us," stated the midfielder.
"At the 18th Asian Games Jakarta-Palembang, I think we were slightly overconfident that we are Asia's No. 1 team and this complacency is what we need to avoid during the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Muscat 2018 if we want to retain the title. Post the semifinal loss, the team had several meetings to understand where we went wrong and watched the videos from that match numerous times. When we regrouped for the National Camp, we told ourselves it's time to move on and we cannot let the past affect our chances at the upcoming two big tournaments," Manpreet added.
Malaysia too have have an impressive run in the Asian Champions Trophy so far, winning all their matches they have played -- against Japan, Oman, and South Korea.
Though both teams are unbeaten, India currently tops the standings by virtue of better goal difference and the clash between the top two promises to be an exciting one.
Malaysia's win today secured their second position on the table while Pakistan maintained their spot at third after a win against Oman. Here's how the teams stand in the Hero Asian Champions Trophy after the matches played on 22nd October 2018.#IndiaKaGame #HeroACT2018 pic.twitter.com/cBr1ND78Yt
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 23, 2018
South Korea takes on Oman in the other match of the day.
Two competitive matches will be on display as the Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2018 will reach its sixth day today. Here’s how the action will unfold on 23rd October.#IndiaKaGame #HeroACT2018 pic.twitter.com/aokyTCI2BD
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 22, 2018
India wind up their round-robin engagemenets on Wednedsay (October 24) with the game against Korea.
With back-to-back matches against tough opponents scheduled, the Manpreet-led Indian squad have theit task cut out.
Match starts at 10.40PM IST
Live on Star Sports 2/ Star Sports HD2
Live streaming on Hotstar