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On Sunday, September 8, the Indian men’s hockey team defeated the hosts, China 3-0 in the first round-robin match of the Asian Champions Trophy 2024 at the Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia, China. In their first match after winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024, India were clinical from start to finish in both attack and defence with the likes of Sukhjeet Singh, Uttam Singh, and Abhishek scoring the goals against the China in their own den.
In the first quarter, China started quite well in attack in the Asian Champions Trophy 2024 match, putting the Indian defensive lineup under pressure to find the opener, but they weren’t able to get the goal. After weathering the initial storm from the hosts, India started to find their groove, and shortly after, Sukhjeet Singh put them in a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute.
India are defending champions of Asian Champions Trophy
The second quarter saw India produce a wave of attacks on the Chinese final third, to double their lead in the 27th minute with a decent finish from Uttam Singh. After the half-time break, the Indian attacking lineup kept China under pressure in the third quarter, and it paid dividends instantly when Abhishek made it 3-0 in favour of them in the 32nd minute.
During the fourth quarter, the Asian Champions Trophy 2024 match opened up with both Indian and Chinese attacking lineups managing to win multiple penalty corners, but they were unable to find the back of the net. Ultimately, India proved to be the runaway winners of the match against China with a 3-0 margin, to start their title defence in style.
Earlier in the day, the fans in Hulunbuir City were treated to a couple of edge of the seat thrillers in the Asian Champions Trophy 2024. In the first match of the tournament, South Korea and Japan played out a 5-5 draw, and in the subsequent match, Pakistan were held to a 2-2 draw by Malaysia.
