1 week Ago By Anish Anand
India vs China promises to be a preview of the Asian Champions Trophy final, with coach Harendra Singh's side facing their toughest test of the tournament. The Indian women's hockey team has already sealed a semifinal spot, but the fixture against Olympic silver medallists China promises to be a tough one. Both teams have three wins so far, with China leading the way on goal difference (21 vs India's 18).
India's journey so far has been a comfortable one, beating Malaysia 4-0 in the opener, before narrowly edging out South Korea 3-2. Harendra Singh's attack-first approach truly came to the fore in India's most recent match against Thailand, which saw them run out 13-0 winners. Deepika scored five, with Preeti, Lalremsiami and Manisha Chauhan each grabbing a brace.
Yet, aside from the goals, the most important factor for India was the conversion of penalty corners - scoring five from 12 attempts. It was a problem point against Malaysia and Korea, and coach Harendra Singh will hope their issues have been solved. Penalty corners may prove crucial against China, who have defeated India in their last two games - both in the FIH Pro League in February of this year.
India can ill afford to be profligate against China, who are expected to trouble India's defence with their swift counter-attacks. India's defence were barely tested against Malaysia and Thailand, but did concede twice to South Korea. Should India hold firm however, they can expect a positive outcome, after a rejuvenated performance from their midfield and frontline over the last few games.
What they said: "I am happy with the way the team kept their structure and managed to manipulate the opposition and score goals. There was connection between the defenders and attacking midfielders and we need to do the same in the remaining matches.".
