Dilpreet Singh, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring the second goal.
| Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY
Tricky, tough, tense. India’s last Super 4s game at the Asia Cup here against China was expected to be all of this and more.
Instead, it was a masterclass in what the Indian team was capable of when it got its mind to it as the host ran roughshod for a 7-0 victory to storm into the final and a step closer to a World Cup spot on Saturday.
The three-time champion will now take on five-time winner Korea in the final after the holder rallied to stun Malaysia 4-3 in the other Super 4s game.
If China had any hopes of causing an upset or running India close, it was in for a reality check.
India looked like a team on a mission. It started on a blistering pace and kept the tempo up through the first 30 minutes to not just rattle its rival but also leave it gasping as the impressive Chinese defence that had held strong so far in the competition dismantled in quick time.
The speed was accompanied by domination of both possession and space. So much so that for the first two quarters, China barely had an entry into the Indian circle or a look-in at the goal. Every attempt to find space resulted in a turnover that saw India threatening to score.
Harmanpreet Singh was stationed at halfway line, Jarmanpreet and Amit Rohidas assisting on the flanks and Sanjay even coming close to scoring. Shilanand Lakra deflected in a Jarmanpreet pass in the fourth minute after a couple of close calls. Abhishek, back on striking duty after playing in a withdrawn role in the previous game, constantly threatened.
Hardik and Rajinder marshalled the midfield and Sumit and Manpreet, running the length and breadth of the field, were tireless and kept running circles around the Chinese midfield and defence.
A penalty corner each in the first two quarters were both saved by the Chinese rusher, only to see the rebounds slammed in, first by Dilpreet at the near post and then by Mandeep, positioned on the goal-line to push in Vivek’s shot, to be 3-0 up inside the first 20 minutes. Post the break, the frenetic pace was replaced by a more controlled tempo but equally dominant. The Chinese edged ahead cautiously, knowing they had to get into the game, but left gaps at the back to concede four more. If the first half was about speed, the second was about asserting superiority. The numbers say it all: India had 19 circle entries and 13 shots at goal to four and one respectively for China. China’s biggest weapon was nullified by not conceding a single PC.
Korea, meanwhile, came back from two goals down to reach its seventh tournament final. Trailing 3-1, Korea struck thrice in eight minutes to stun Malaysia, which scrambled for an equaliser but could not find a way past goalkeeper Jaehan Kim.
Kazakhstan rode on a five-goal spree by Agymtay Duisengazy to win 6-4 against Taiwan to finish seventh.
The results: Super 4s: India 7 (Shilanand Lakra 4, Dilpreet Singh 7, Mandeep Singh 18, Rajkumar Pal 37, Sukhjeet Singh 39, Abhishek 46, 50) bt China 0; Korea 4 (Hyeonhong Kim 24, 51, Seyong Oh 44, Jungjun Lee 50) bt Malaysia 3 (Fitri Saari 9, Aiman Rozemi 29, Syed Cholan 31).
7-8: Kazakhstan 6 (Agymtay Duisengazy 12, 23, 30, 36, 56, Altynbek Aitkaliyev 47) bt Taiwan 4 (Tsung-Yu Hsieh 13, 18, 31, Yu-Cheng Chang 7).
Published – September 06, 2025 10:32 pm IST
