As India walked onto the field on Friday, October 30, to face Japan, they were dressed in white. They had played all their matches in the tournament so far in saffron, and the change was a welcome one.

White is often associated with calmness and patience, and it seemed Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh was embracing both on the day.ASIAN CHAMPIONS TROPHY: FULL COVERAGEWhile the rest of the team paired their white jerseys with flashy footwear, Harmanpreet opted for a simple pair of white shoes. No fancy designs, no bright colours.

Just the manufacturer's logo and nothing else.INDIA VS JAPAN HIGHLIGHTS With the Indian skipper playing in front of his home crowd in Jalandhar, you might have expected him to soak in the admiration and turn on the style. But whenever the hooter sounded, Harmanpreet was all business.

The noise around him seemed to fade as he slipped into his zone.And that was precisely the approach India needed against Japan. India took the lead through Abhishek, but Japan threatened to take control of the contest.

They had the edge in possession, circle entries and penalty corners, leaving the packed Surjit Hockey Stadium increasingly restless.Then, just seconds before the end of the first quarter, Japan equalised. The mood inside the stadium shifted from excitement to anxiety.

India were struggling to find cohesion upfront, with erratic passing repeatedly disrupting their attacking moves.Worse still, they were finding it difficult to bring their captain into the game. India's attackers struggled to create penalty-corner opportunities, leaving Harmanpreet waiting for his moment.That moment finally arrived in the 47th minute.

India earned their first and only penalty corner of the contest, with the score locked at 1-1. The stadium held its breath.

There was little doubt about who would take the shot.The injection and trap were perfect. Harmanpreet put everything behind his drag-flick, sending the ball past the Japanese goalkeeper to give India the lead.The stadium erupted.

Harmanpreet, however, offered no extravagant celebration. Just a quiet acknowledgement of the crowd, as if telling them he had always believed that moment would come.That was the confidence he inspired, from the fans in the stands to the team management in the dugout."He is world-class, and he doesn't need 10 chances to score one goal.

Give him three, he'll score one, and on each day, he'll score two out of three, no problem," an elated Craig Fulton told the media right after the win.But while the world-class drag-flicker delivered when it mattered most, it was a different quality that had prepared Harmanpreet for that one shot that changed the course of the game: patience.NOT RUNNING BEHIND GOALSFor a player who has scored 316 goals in 280 appearances for the senior team and 32 in 35 matches at the junior level, the temptation to force the issue when his team is struggling to click would be understandable.Yet, there was never a moment on Friday when Harmanpreet abandoned his position at the back to chase a goal. He understood what the situation demanded.

Japan were constantly pushing forward and putting India's young defence under pressure. They needed their captain to hold his ground.Harmanpreet trusted his team to create an opportunity for him.

He did not need to go looking for one himself. In a tight contest, he knew that patience and control were just as important as the ability to produce a moment of magic."I think we always talk about this: until the last whistle, we stick to what we have decided.

We should not run behind goals. I think we had quite a few circle entries, but of course, we got fewer penalty corners.

But that is the thing: in such a good game, how patient you remain, how much you control your mind and stay cool-minded, I think that is more important," said Harmanpreet."And the way we performed in the last half, we knew that we would get a goal because we were keeping good ball possession. And definitely, the circle entries we had got us a good outcome.

So, I am very happy about the performance."'THIS IS MY RESPONSIBILITY'When the opportunity finally came, Harmanpreet had no intention of letting the pressure get to him. The stakes were high, and the weight of playing in front of his home crowd was undeniable.

But the Indian captain knew what his team expected of him.His responsibility was to execute the plan, not get caught up in the moment."I think everyone has a different responsibility. That is my responsibility.

Sometimes you score, sometimes you don't. But definitely, as I have said, don't run behind goals and don't overthink that we have to score, we have to score.

My mindset was the same, that whenever I get an opportunity, we will apply what we discussed in the meeting. And we applied it well," said Harmanpreet.Harmanpreet needs just three more goals to go past the great Balbir Singh and become India's second-highest goalscorer, behind Dhyan Chand.The numbers underline his stature.

But perhaps what sets the Indian captain apart is not just his ability to score, but his refusal to chase moments, his willingness to trust the process and his composure when the pressure is at its highest.In Jalandhar, on his own turf, the Sarpanch offered another reminder of why he remains one of India's most dependable players.- Ends