India vs China, Asian Champions Trophy 2024 Highlights: India begin campaign with 3-0 victory in Moqi

India’s 3-0 victory is also the first outright result of the day.

Both matches that had taken place before the Indo-China face off had ended in a draw — Korea vs Japan ending in a 5-5 thriller and last year’s runners-up Malaysia holding three-time champions Pakistan to a 2-2 stalemate.

India, as a result, jump to the top of the table.

FT: FULL TIME in Moqi! Defending champions India begin their campaign in the Asian Champions Trophy with a 3-0 hammering of hosts China!

What was impressive about the victory was the fact that India did not rely on PCs for goals. They began on a slightly shaky note, but were absolutely ruthless once they got into their groove, with Sukheet Singh, Uttam Singh and Abhishek on target for the Olympic bronze medallists.

Q4, 14’: India signal for a referral with a minute left on the clock, asking for a penalty corner after the referee initially awards a free hit to China.

India won’t be too disappointed with that verdict though. And the final whistle should be any moment now.

Q4, 14’: A couple of PCs awarded to China in the last couple of minutes. The first one is deflected towards safety by Indian custodian Karkera. The second one then hits the left bar, nearly reducing their deficit to two from three.

China launch a quick counter-attack right after the second penalty corner, and the Indian defenders put in a quick scramble to thwart their attempt.

Q4, 1’: Karkera replaces Pathak at the goalpost for the final quarter of the match, with the Craig Fulton-coached side opting to rotate their keepers per quarter instead of per half.

A victory already appears well beyond China’s reach at the moment, but they will be looking for a consolation goal or two in the remainder of the contest. India, meanwhile, wouldn’t mind another strike.

Q3, 15’: End of the third quarter, with China coming close to opening their account in the last five minutes, only to get thwarted by the Indian defence.

Team India managed to triple their lead just a couple of minutes into the third quarter, thanks to a super strike from Abhishek, and have looked fairly relaxed since then.

Q2, 1’: The second half gets underway in Moqi now, with Team India hoping to double their lead before the half-time interval. China, however, have been impressive with the fight that they’ve put up so far, even giving India a scare a couple of times.

Goalkeeper Pathak, meanwhile has been given a breather right now and he’ll be back in the game later, with Suraj Karkera taking his place at the moment.

India 0-0 China

Q1, 1′: The match is underway at the Moqi Training Base in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, China. It’s India’s first match since PR Sreejesh’s retirement at the end of the Olymipcs, marking the beginning of a new era. Krishan Pathak is guarding the goalpost for India.

Q1, 13′: GOAL! India seize the lead in the very first quarter of the match as Sukhjeet puts the defending champions ahead off a Jugraj assist!

Jugraj fires the ball into the circle from the right flank, and the ball deflects past the Chinese goalkeeper into the post after catching a deflection off Sukhjeet’s stick!

Here’s India’s starting lineup for the clash:

India enjoy a dominant record against China in the Asian Champions Trophy, having won four out of five matches.

In their most recent ACT meeting in the 2016 edition, the Indians had demolished the Chinese 9-0 in Malaysia.

Here’s how India fared in the Paris Olympics, where they won five matches, lost two and drew one en route to winning their second successive bronze:

Pool Phase:

— defeated New Zealand 3-2

— drew against Argentina 1-1

— defeated Ireland 2-0

— lost to Belgium 1-2

— defeated Australia 3-2

Quarter-final: Drew against Great Britain 1-1 (won 4-2 on penalties)

Semi-final: Lost to Germany 2-3

Bronze medal match: Defeated Spain 2-1

The upcoming match against China will be India’s first since they defeated Spain 2-1 in Paris last month to win a second consecutive bronze medal.

Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh had retired at the end of the Olympics, making Sunday’s clash the beginning of a new era.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of India’s opening match of the 2024 Hockey Men’s Asian Champions Trophy against hosts China in Moqi.

India are the defending champions in this tournament, having defeated Malaysia 4-3 in the final in Chennai last year, and will be eyeing a strong start to their campaign as the Harmanpreet Singh-led side eye back-to-back titles.