India opened their campaign in the Hockey Asia Cup with a nail-biting win over China in Rajgir. Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored a hat trick as India defeated China 4-3 in their Pool A game.
India scraped through a tough Chinese challenge in their first match of the Hockey Asia Cup 2025 with a nail-biting 4-3 win at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium in Bihar on Friday, August 29. Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored a hat trick in the clash, with all three strikes coming through penalty corners.ย
The Chinese showed a lot of grit and fight as they ran the Olympic bronze medallists for money and kept them on their toes throughout the clash. They had taken an early lead in the 12th minute before the Indians equalised in the second quarter with Jugraj converting a penalty corner in the short absence of Harmanpreet.
Harmanpreet then sent India to a lead in the 20th minute, before he scored another one in the third quarter. The Chinese achieved parity with the Indians with their twin strikes in the third quarter. However, Harmanpreet found just enough. Despite missing a penalty stroke, he sent India 4-3 up with a penalty corner strike to help his team win the opener.
More to follow…