Asia Cup: India face China in a must-win match

Stung by their first loss to Pakistan after 2006 Commonwealth Games, India face a must-win situation against the nimble-footed Chinese as even a draw will show them the exit door from the event with China progressing to the semi-finals from Pool B as the second best team alongwith Pakistan.

With a draw against China in their opening match and then yesterday's 3-2 victory over India, Pakistan have already booked their place in the last four stage being the group toppers.

India coach-in-charge Harendra also admitted that his side would be under pressure tomorrow, but said there is only one way out for India and that is victory.

"Yes, we are under tremendous pressure and any how we will have to win our match against China tomorrow. We will go out attacking from the start," he said.

Skipper Sandeep Singh, who was the player of the tournament during India's Azlan Shah triumph last month, was a dissapoinment yesterday as he failed to convert a single penalty corner out of the five India have earned, but Harendra was in no mood to give much importance to the fact and said it was just an off-day for the drag-flicker.

"It's a part and parcel of the game, one day you will click and on the other day you won't. So, I don't think it's a worry for us, Sandeep is a world class player and I am hopeful he will come good tomorrow," Harendra said.

The coach-in-charge also ruled out any possible changes in the playing eleven against China.
He said what let India down against Pakistan was their missed chances.
"I have no complaints against the boys, they played really well. It's just that we missed a couple of chances and they capitalised on their chances."

However, the Chinese won't be an easy hurdle to cross for the Indians as they are known for springing surprises. India will also have to keep in mind the fact that it was China who dented their medal hopes in 2006 Asian Games, defeating them 3-2.

Although, the eight-time Olympic champions displayed great attacking hockey against Pakistan in the high-octane match yesterday, the Indian fowards failed to find the net on a consistent basis.

To add to that, the Indian mid-field will have to do away with their habit of losing the ball to the opponents at crucial junctures. The Sandeep Singh-led defence too looked scratchy against Pakistan yesterday as they gave lot of open spaces to their opponents and conceded soft goals.

Against Pakistan, India's many break-outs were on a very high speed, but were ineffective as they relied heavily on playing high balls and fast dribbling.

The Indians will have to do away with high balls and dribbling and instead use their combinations well against the Chinese to make their attack more penetrating.

The Chinese, on the other hand, are expected to play a defensive game with swift counter attacks.
All in all, a mouth-watering clash is on the cards with India relying on their attacking hockey to come good against the formidable defence of the Chinese.