India reclaim Asian Games hockey gold with 5-1 drubbing of Japan, qualify for Paris Olympics
Hangzhou(PTI): Skipper Harmanpreet Singh led admirably as the Indian men's hockey team mauled defending champions Japan 5-1 to reclaim the Asian Games gold, their fourth in the continental showpiece, after nine years and qualify for next year's Paris Olympics here on Friday.
The Indians, who had to be content with a bronze medal in the last edition in Jakarta, thus won their fourth Asian Games gold and first since the 2014 Incheon edition.
India's other gold medals came in 1966 and 1998, both times in Bangkok.
South Korea won the bronze medal after eking out a close 2-1 win over hosts China.
Harmanpreet (32nd, 59th minutes) scored a brace through penalty corners, Amit Rohidas (36th) also sounded the board from a set-piece, while Manpreet Singh (25th) and Abhishek (48th) found the net from field efforts to register the famous victory for India.
Seren Tanaka converted a penalty corner for Japan in the 51st minutes.
Harmanpreet, thus, finished the tournament as India's top scorer with 13 goals, one ahead of striker Mandeep Singh.
The Indians, who ended the tournament unbeaten, were by far the better side against Japan, whom they had defeated 4-2 in the pool stages.
The Indians mostly used the flanks to great effect to build their attacks and also used down-the-line long balls to perfection.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists were quick to get off the blocks and made quite a few circle penetrations but failed to convert them into goals in the first quarter.
India played high-press hockey and constantly put the Japanese defence under pressure.
They got their first chance in the fifth minute but Lalit Upadhyay's deflection from a pass from the left flank was saved by Japanese goalkeeper Takumi Kitagawa.
The Indians kept on pressing hard and, in the process, secured their first penalty corner of the match but Harmanpreet's flick was brilliantly saved by an agile Kitagawa.
Two minutes into the second quarter, India earned another penalty corner but the variation didn't work as Rohidas's flick went over the post.
India continued their attacking hockey and finally took the lead in the 25th minute when Manpreet scored from a rebound with a powerful reverse hit from top of the circle after Abhishek's initial try, from close range, was saved by the Japanese goalkeeper.
Two minutes from half-time, India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was alert in front of his goal and was perfectly placed to deny Japan's try, blocking the ball with his legs.
Two minutes into the second half, India secured three consecutive penalty corners and this time Harmanpreet was bang on target with the final attempt, sounding the board with a powerful drag-flick to the left of Kitagawa's extend left leg.
Minutes later, Rohidas tripled India's lead, finding the net with a powerful high flick that beat Japan goalkeeper Kitagawa all ends up.
Shamsher Singh then came close to registering his name in the score sheet only to be denied by Kitagawa.
It was complete domination by the Indians as three minutes into the fourth and final quarter Abhishek made the scoreline 4-0 from a tight angle after receiving a pass from vice-captain Hardik Singh.
With nothing to lose, Japan woke up in the last 10 minutes and secured two back-to-back penalty corners and Tanaka pulled one back.
Harmanpreet added salt to Japan's wounds when he converted his second penalty corner just a minute from the final hooter.
Goalkeeping stalwart PR Sreejesh indicated securing the Paris Olympic quota place with nearly 10 months to go for the global showpiece will give the team time to prepare properly.
"The main thing is we get a year to prepare for the Olympics, that's the best part. Secondly, it's a wake-up call. At the last Olympics we did a great job, then the Asian Championships, now the Asian Games," he said.
"Whenever we play at an Asian Games it always comes into our minds about it being a ticket to the Olympic Games. Japan put on a wonderful display. They made an effort to score more goals, which gave us control of the game."
He added that while India had a lot of exposure to European teams in the lead-up to the Asian Games, all continental teams were dangerous because they gave it their all on the field.
"All the Asian countries are here to win the tournament and get to Paris (Olympics). We definitely have more exposure playing against most of the European countries, but when it's on the field the (Asian teams) give 100 per cent," added Sreejesh.
Midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad said the team's strategy in all the matches here was to defend doggedly.
"Offence wins matches but defence wins you championships. That is our mantra and why we achieved what we did here," said Prasad.
India chief coach Craig Fulton said the team will test its Olympic preparations during Hockey Pro League season next year.
Asked whether India needed to raise its competitive level for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Fulton said, "No. That would come in time as you know the Pro League is in February, so that's the way we will test there."
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
