India captain Harmanpreet Singh described his side&rsquo;s 4-1 triumph over Malaysia in the Men&rsquo;s Asia Cup Super 4s as the &ldquo;best gift&rdquo; he could have received on the occasion of his 250th international appearance.&nbsp;
India, playing at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium, had to rally from behind after Shafiq Hassan (2&rsquo;) put Malaysia ahead in the opening minutes. 
The hosts regrouped swiftly, equalising through veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh (17&rsquo;) before Sukhjeet Singh (19&rsquo;) and Shilanand Lakra (24&rsquo;) turned the game around with quickfire goals.
Vivek Sagar Prasad (38&rsquo;) added a fourth after the break to put the result beyond doubt, ensuring India&rsquo;s second win of the Super 4s stage.
&ldquo;This win is the best gift I could have received in my 250th international match, and I&rsquo;m very happy the team gave it to me,&rdquo; Harmanpreet said after the match. &ldquo;We win as a team. Even after conceding the first goal, we did not come under pressure. Our plan was clear &mdash; stick to our structure, and we knew the goals would come. Yesterday against Korea was a tough day, but today the team showed that we know how to bounce back. Our forwards created opportunities and the defence worked superbly as a unit.&rdquo;
Coach Craig Fulton praised his team&rsquo;s resilience and tactical execution. &ldquo;I am proud of the players&rsquo; performance. After yesterday&rsquo;s draw, the team responded brilliantly. Conceding an early goal is never an ideal situation, but the players showed great character to come back strongly and score four consecutive goals,&rdquo; he said.
The match itself highlighted India&rsquo;s ability to respond under pressure. 
After falling behind, the home side grew stronger with every quarter. 
Manpreet&rsquo;s opportunistic strike from a penalty corner rebound levelled the score, and Sukhjeet&rsquo;s sharp finish soon gave India the lead. 
Lakra&rsquo;s deft deflection extended the advantage before Vivek capped the scoring midway through the third quarter.
Malaysia tried to fight back with penalty corners and open-play opportunities, but India&rsquo;s defence, marshalled by Harmanpreet, stood firm. Goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak also pulled off crucial saves to deny the visitors.
On India&rsquo;s preparation, Fulton added: &ldquo;We had done our homework on Malaysia. Every team is different, and today the players succeeded in finding the patterns we were looking for. Our aim is to qualify [for the final], and for that our focus has to remain sharp.&rdquo;
With the victory, India consolidated their position in the Super 4s group and gained momentum ahead of their next match against China on Saturday.
&mdash;IANS

India celebrates 4-1 hockey win over Malaysia

India beat Malaysia 4-1 in Asia Cup as Harmanpreet celebrates 250th international match

Harmanpreet Shines As India Beat Malaysia 4-1

India beat Malaysia 4-1 in Asia Cup as Harmanpreet celebrates 250th international match

September 5, 2025 | 15:40 IST