Asia Cup Hockey: Rusty Indians struggle past China

Rajgir: Was it because of the first-match jitters? Or was it for their opponents, China, living up to their "tricky" image? Whatever be the reason, tournament's top-ranked India's narrow 4-3 win over the world No. 23 China in the opener of the Asia Cup here on Friday once again exposed everything the hosts are struggling with in the last few months.  

While an attempt was saved by the Chinese goalkeeper in the very first minute, another field goal was overruled as void as India got off on a wrong note in the early minutes of the first quarter, it was the third quarter that ripped open the team’s long-standing defensive wounds. In between, captain Harmanpreet Singh’s hat-trick (20th, 33rd, 47th) and his dragflick counterpart Jugraj Singh’s (18th) one goal came in handy for the home side to escape with a win that gave them three points. 

Though there were multiple field goal attempts, all four of the Indian goals came through penalty corners. For the visiting neighbours, DU Shihao (12th) got their scoreboard ticking before Benhai Chen (35th) and Jieshng Gao (42nd) netted the other two goals. 

The quick-footed Chinese were expected to tactically trouble and test Craig Fulton’s men. Starting off by pressing deep into the the 25-yard line and later capitalising on counter-attacks, the Chongcong Chen-led side remained a step ahead for a large part of the first 17 minutes when they held a 1-0 lead. 

With Harmanpreet having missed the target twice already, Jugraj was called in to take the strike and he struck hard to make it 1-1 in 18th. It was only in the second quarter, when the skipper finally found the back of the net, did India breathe a sigh of relief. The 29-year-old's second strike put India ahead by 3-1, just three minutes after the halfway mark. 

However, that cushion was short-lived as China switched on the aggression. Multiple Indian slip-ups, including Harmanpreet missing a penalty stroke and the poor ball trapping, hurt them in more ways than one. 

With the scores tied at 3-3, the mistakes coming would have proven to be too costly if not for Harmanpreet converting the third of the three consecutive penalty corners in the 47th minute.

Malaysia win 

The second best ranked team Malaysia, the world No. 12, also took time to get going before scoring a 4-1 win over Bangladesh, in the first match of the 10-day event. 

The other Pool B tie saw Korea trounce Chinese Taipei 7-0 while the Pool A encounter between Japan and Kazakhstan ended with the former walking away with a 7-0 victory.

Results: Pool A: India: 4 (Harmanpreet Singh 20th, 33rd, 47th, Jugraj Singh 18th) bt China: 3 (DU Shihao 12th, Benhai Chen 35th, Jieshng Gao 42nd); Japan: 7 (Kosei Kawabe 1st, Naru Kimura 5th, Koji Yamasaki 13th, 36th, Ken Nagayoshi 48th, Shota Yamada 48th, Ryosuke Shinohara 54th) bt Kazakhstan: 0.

Pool B: Malaysia: 4 (Ashran Hamsani 25th, Akhimullah Anuar 36th, Muhajir Abdul Rauf 48th, Syed Cholan 54th) bt Bangladesh: (Ashraful Islam 16th); Korea: 7 (Dain Son 17th, 29th, 58th, Jihun Yang 27th, 50th, Seyong Oh 53rd, Yoonho Kong 54th) bt Chinese Taipei: 0.