An undefeated team in the tournament team India will look for their third continental title when the captain Manpreet Singh and his force takes on Malaysia in the final of the 10th Hockey Asia Cup in Dhaka on a Super Sunday. India, after winning consecutive titles in 2003 and 2007 at Kuala Lumpur and Chennai respectively, but has failed to make the hat-trick by adding a third title to their name. In the previous edition, India came close to achieving that feat but lost to South Korea in the title clash in Ipoh. For the record, Koreans are the most successful side in this tournament, having won it four times in 1994 at Hiroshima, 1999 at Kuala Lumpur, 2009 Kuantan, and Ipoh four years ago. Pakistan is second with three titles, winning the first three editions in 1982 at Karachi, 1985 in Dhaka and 1989 in New Delhi.
On the other hand, its second finalist Malaysians, a proud hockey nation with many Indian and Pakistani refugee playing their own roles, have been there on the periphery for a long time. They finished third in the 2007 edition, which is their best effort so far. But this young Indian young side, with many of the roster coming from the Junior World Cup 2016 winning squad, has been brilliant and are the clear favorites in the final. In the last Super 4, India thrashed Pakistan 4-0 to qualify as the top team.
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