Dominant India look to continue winning streak in Asian Champions Trophy
Kuantan: The Indian men's hockey team will look to continue their winning streak in the ongoing 4th Asian Champions Trophy when they take on China in their fourth clash on Tuesday.
The Indian team, which is currently second in the points table secured an emphatic 3-2 victory against Pakistan on Sunday. The team will be in fine form as they take on China, who have had a mixed result at the tournament so far.
India, who are touted to be prime contenders for this year's Asian Champions Trophy, began with a comprehensive 10-2 victory against Japan and fought hard against South Korea in an intense 1-1 draw.
The morale-boosting victory against Pakistan has added positive vibes in the Indian squad.
China began their campaign, going down 1-5 to Malaysia before salvaging a 2-1 victory against Japan. Compared to India, they are ranked lower in the FIH World Rankings, a fact that gives India an edge in the upcoming game.
Historically, India has defeated China twice in the first two editions of the Asian Champions Trophy before China got the better of them in the previous edition. The Indian Squad will be wary of this while China will take inspiration and provide a tough fight.
The Indian contingent under Chief Coach, Roelant Oltmans have been performing consistently over the past six months. So far in the tournament, we have seen strong performances from PR Sreejesh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, and from youngsters like Pardeep Mor, Talwinder Singh and Affan Yousuf. Ace dragflicker, Rupinder has scored seven goals in the tournament already.
A win for India in this encounter will ensure that they advance into the knockout stages of the Asian Champions Trophy 2016.
