India Clinches Fourth Hockey Asia Cup Title in Rajgir: Key Highlights and Analysis

Rajgir: Curtains came down on the men’s hockey Asia Cup at the Rajgir Sports Complex here on Sunday night as the Indian men’s hockey team continued their dominance in Asia by winning the tournament for a fourth time and their first in eight years. It was a solid and compact performance by the team on the final day after being shaky in the group stage and also in the first game of the Super4s stage. But they didn’t let it affect them as they remained focused on the goal and grew from strength to strength to finish in style. Besides such a showing by the hosts, where they won six of their seven games and were held in another and solidified their status as the No. 1 team in Asia, there are also some other takeaways from the tournament. Asian hockey needs to grow: China might have lost heavily against India in the Super4s stage but they seem to be on the right track with a strong support staff. However, the same cannot be said about the other teams as they seem to be nowhere near the top. Teams like Malaysia, Japan and South Korea have been traditional powerhouses but their performances in the tournament left much to be desired. Pakistan sorely missed: Fans came in huge numbers and the matches were quite competitive but Pakistan’s absence couldn’t be ignored. They last toured India during the Asian Champions Trophy in 2023 and one hopes to see their junior team at the Junior World Cup, to be held later this year in Chennai and Madurai. Even if they don’t make it there, one would love to at least see India and Pakistan face off in the Pro League during the next season. Big boost for academy players: Most of the kids at the Rajgir Sports Complex hockey academy never had the chance to see a live hockey match before the Women’s ACT. But thanks to the back-to-back tournaments, they got the chance to watch the games and learn as much as possible. They also got to meet India captain Harmanpreet Singh during a session hosted by Bihar State Sports Authority. Better facilities needed: While the Rajgir Sports Complex is wonderful and will certainly make a huge difference to Bihar sports in the future, for major hockey tournaments to be held in the future, there need to be better facilities especially for the fans. As temporary stands couldn’t be set up, once again a large number of fans could only stand and watch the matches, especially the India games. Also, with the matches being held in such hot weather, it wasn’t easy for them, especially for the kids who were brought in big numbers. And when it rained during the two matchdays, there was no other option for the fans but to get drenched. No time for change: Everyone was taken aback to see male dancers perform on the sidelines wearing traditional attire instead of the usual female cheerleaders during the first two days of the tournament. Although it was nice to see the organisers trying something different and breaking the stereotype, it wasn’t well accepted and the organisers went back to the usual cheerleaders from the third day onwards.Nitish Kumar everywhere: Be it on the buses that transported the players or the flexes by the roadside or even the huge hoardings inside the Rajgir Sports Complex, the picture of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was everywhere to be seen.