India Dominates China 7-0 to Secure Asia Cup Final Spot

India's Commanding Victory Over China

Rajgir (Bihar): In a stunning display of skill, India crushed China 7-0 in their final Super 4 match, advancing to the men's Asia Cup hockey tournament final on Saturday.

From the outset, India dominated the match, with goals from Shilanand Lakra (4'), Dilpreet Singh (7'), Mandeep Singh (18'), Raj Kumar Pal (37'), Sukhjeet Singh (39'), and Abhishek (46', 50').

This victory allowed India to top the Super 4 standings with seven points, leaving defending champions Korea in second place with four points.

India is set to face five-time champions Korea in the final on Sunday, which will also serve as a qualifier for next year's World Cup, co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, China will compete against Malaysia for the third-place position on the same day.

Korea had earlier secured a thrilling 4-3 comeback victory over Malaysia in a crucial Super 4 match.

Throughout the match against China, India maintained complete control, with most of the action occurring in the Chinese half.

The Indian defense was rarely challenged, as China struggled to penetrate the circle, failing to earn a single penalty corner.

India wasted no time asserting their dominance, scoring in the fourth minute when Shilanand found the net after a precise aerial pass from skipper Harmanpreet Singh.

Following this, Shilanand earned a penalty corner, which led to Dilpreet doubling the lead after capitalizing on a rebound.

In the 13th minute, Sanjay nearly added another goal, but his shot went wide.

India secured another penalty corner in the 18th minute, and Mandeep extended the lead to 3-0 by scoring from a rebound.

The Indian attackers continued to pressure the Chinese defense, with Hardik Singh's powerful shot being saved by the vigilant Wang.

After halftime, India remained relentless, and Dilpreet's high shot was saved acrobatically by the Chinese goalkeeper.

However, India quickly found the net again, with Raj Kumar scoring in the 37th minute after a setup from Shilanand and Dilpreet.

India earned another penalty corner shortly after but failed to convert.

In the 39th minute, Sukhjeet scored with a diving slap shot, making it 5-0.

Abhishek then scored twice in the final quarter, first with a deft tap-in and then with a fierce reverse hit.

Earlier, Malaysia's defeat against Korea eliminated them from the final race.

Korea's goals came from Hyenhong Kim (24', 51'), Seyong Oh (44'), and Jungjun Lee (50'), while Malaysia scored through Fitri Saari (9'), Aiman Rozemi (29'), and Syed Cholan (31').

Despite trailing for most of the match, Korea rallied in the final quarter to secure their victory.

Kazakhstan Claims Seventh Place

In earlier action, Kazakhstan, ranked 88th, triumphed over world No. 41 Chinese Taipei 6-4 to finish seventh in the tournament.

Agymtay Duisengazy scored five goals for Kazakhstan, while Altynbek Aitkaliyev added another.

Chinese Taipei's Yu-Cheng Chang opened the scoring, and Tsung-Yu Hsieh netted a hat-trick.