India vs China Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2024: Team India made a great start in the Asian Champions Trophy, defeated China in their own home

India vs China Hockey Result: The Indian hockey team has made a stormy start in the Asian Champions Trophy 2024. India defeated host China 3-0 in the match played in Hulunbuir on Sunday (September 8). Sukhjeet Singh (14th minute), Uttam Singh (27th minute), and Abhishek (32nd minute) scored goals for India. India got more chances to score goals, but it could not capitalize on them.

India’s next match is against Japan

India scored a goal in the first quarter when Jugraj Singh made a brilliant slap-in from the right and Sukhit scored. Then in the second half, Uttam Singh scored a goal on the rebound. After this, in the third quarter, Abhishek scored a goal through a reverse hit to put India ahead 3-0. There was no goal in the fourth quarter.

Let us tell you that a total of six teams including India are participating in this tournament. All the teams will play five matches each in the group stage. India will face Japan in its second match on September 9. After this, it will face last year’s runner-up Malaysia on September 11, Korea on September 12 and arch-rival Pakistan on September 14. The semi-finals and finals will be played on September 16 and 17. India won the bronze medal in the recent Paris Olympics under the leadership of Harmanpreet Singh.

Captain Harmanpreet says about this tournament, ‘From the game point of view, our aggressive play and penalty corners are our strong points, but we would like to play with a strong defense especially against teams like Japan, Malaysia and Pakistan. This is an important tournament for us in terms of world ranking points and we are ready for the challenge.’

On the other hand, Indian team’s vice-captain and midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad said that this competition will give them a chance to test other teams before the Asian Games to be held in 2026. He said, ‘This tournament is one of the most exciting tournaments in the Asian hockey calendar. We will also get to see the progress of Asian teams in the new cycle as they will play with a new group of players keeping in mind the Asian Games to be held in 2026.’

India is the most successful team of this tournament

India is a strong contender to become the champion in this tournament. India won the title on home ground last year, making it the team to win the most number of titles (4) in the history of the tournament. India surpassed Pakistan in this matter, which had won the title on three occasions. Apart from India-Pakistan, only Korea has won this tournament on one occasion. Korea won the title in the 2021 season.