India look for all-round show against China to seal final berth

Rajgir (Bihar): One step away from the final, the Indian men's hockey team will look to reach its optimal level of efficiency, when the Harmanpreet Singh-led side takes on tricky China in its last Super 4 stage match of the Asia Cup here on Saturday.

After the disappointing 2-2 draw against five-time champions South Korea, India bounced back strongly to outplay Malaysia 4-1 in their second Super 4 match, and the latest result will give the home team a lot of confidence heading into the contest against China.

The convincing win enabled India to jump to the top of the standings with four points from two matches, while both China and Malaysia have three points each. Korea are languishing at the bottom with just one point.

The top two teams from the Super 4s will progress to the summit clash, and a draw would be enough for India to seal their place in Sunday's final.

After a subdued outing against Korea, the Indians played with more intent and tenacity against Malaysia, although the start was far from rosy. The Indians were slow off the blocks and conceded an early goal before getting their act together to stage a remarkable comeback by excelling in all departments of the game.

Speaking after the win against Malaysia, chief coach Craig Fulton said the squad is "still not there" as far as reaching peak performance was concerned, and the Indian players know that the expectations from them are high.

The question is how do they live up to the expectations. The answer is simple: just raise their game a few notches by doing the small details correctly.

So far in the tournament, the midfield has been marshalled pretty well by the likes of veteran Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Rajinder Singh. Their co-ordination with the forwardline was a treat to watch against Malaysia.

Hardik, in particular, has been a livewire in the midfield with his fast dribbling skills and solo runs.

Manpreet has been a workhorse for Indian hockey for years now and his performance against Malaysia proved that he is still hungry for more. Not only did he create chances for the forwards, but he also assisted and scored a goal against Malaysia.

The trio of Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh and Mandeep Singh has been mighty impressive upfront and would look to continue the fine show in the remainder of the tournament.

Young Shilanand Lakra, who is trying to cement his place in the team after returning from a two-year injury layoff, too created as well as scored for his side.

India, however, will have to utilise their chances more once inside the opposition circle and for that, they will need to remain calm and composed.

One thing that might worry Fulton a bit is the rate of penalty corner conversion. After a fine start, skipper Harmanpreet looked to have run out of ideas from set pieces, while the likes of Jugraj Singh, Sanjay and Amit Rohidas too found the going tough.

Against Malaysia, India earned six penalty corners but made use of just one, and that also from a rebound.

"Good defence, good pressing, good turnovers. So it was a good combination. It was an all-round effort," Fulton said.

"We are getting it right at the moment. It works in one and it doesn't work in the other game." China, on the other hand, have been improving in the tournament since the close 4-3 loss to India in the pool stages.

Ranked 22nd in the world, China exceeded expectations and displayed their mental fortitude in tough matches.

So, any minor lapse could cost India a direct qualification to next year's World Cup, scheduled to be jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.

The Asia Cup is a qualifying event for next year's World Cup.

In the day's other Super 4s match, Malaysia will play South Korea.

Teams:

India: Krishan B Pathak (GK), Suraj Karkera (GK), Sumit, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Rajinder Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Mandeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Dilpreet Singh.

China: Xu Ao, Qijun Chen, Jiesheng Gao, Chengfu Chen, Yuanfeng Meng, Pengfei Li, Chongcong Cheng (C), Yuanlin Lu, Dihao Meng, Shihao Du, Xiaojia Zhang, Suozhu Ao, Nan Meng, Changliang Lin, Weihao Wang (GK)Caiyu Wang (GK), Yang Ao, Benhai Chen.

Match starts at 7:30 PM.