• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Hockey Asia Cup 2025: India's unstoppable momentum continued unabated as the side registered a resounding 7-0 victory over China in their final Super 4s match at the Bihar Sports University Hockey Stadium in Rajgir on Saturday, booking its place in the Asia Cup final.

Abhishek scored in the 46th and 50th minutes after Shilanand Lakra (4th minute), Dilpreet Singh (7th), Mandeep Singh (18th), Raj Kumar Pal (37th) and Sukhjeet Singh (39th) had sounded the board in a one-sided match.

With the victory, India topped the Super 4s league table with seven points, while South Korea completed at second with four points, ahead of China and Malaysia -- both on three points.

India are thus just one step away from qualifying for next year's World Cup.

ALSO READ: Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav Lauds India's Energy In High-Intensity Training Sessions, 'Boys Put Body On Line'

The Indian defence was hardly tested in the match as China found it difficult to penetrate the hosts circle. India did not concede a single penalty corner in the match.

The Indians didn't waste time asserting their dominance in the match as they pushed hard from the word go. Their actions paid off in the fourth minute when Shilanand broke the deadlock.

It was captain Harmanpreet Singh's inch-perfect aerial ball from half line that found Jarmanpreet Singh on the right flank, whose pass was neatly stopped and pushed in by Shilanand.

It was persistent from the Indians as, after scoring, Shilanand gained a penalty corner for his side minutes later.

Harmanpreet's initial flick was saved by Chinese goalkeeper Weihao Wang, but Dilpreet stationed himself at the right place to find the net from the rebound and double India's lead.

In the 13th minute, Sanjay came intriguingly close to adding another but his slap shot from the left corner went just wide. India secured their second penalty corner in the 18th minute and Mandeep made the scoreline 3-0 by scoring from a resurgence after Vivek Sagar Prasad's attempt was saved by the Chinese goalkeeper.

The Indian attackers were all over the Chinese ring, and in the 23rd minute, Hardik Singh's powerful flick was kept at bay by an alert Wang.

ALSO READ: Duleep Trophy: Harsh Dubey, Upendra's Masterclass Give Central Zone Upper Hand Over West Zone

India resumed in the same vein after the transition of ends and came close to scoring but Dilpreet's powerful high shot was acrobatically saved by the Chinese goalkeeper's metaphorical hands.

The goals were pouring in from India like rain. Abhishek ensured he wasn't left out of the scoring fest after being set up by a fine one-to-one play from Dilpreet and Sukhjeet.

India had played out a 2-2 draw against South Korea before thrashing Malaysia 4-1 in their earlier two Super 4s matches. The winners of the continental tournament will qualify for next year's World Cup to be jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.