One step away from making a place in the final, the Indian men’s hockey team will have to perform the best against China in the last match of the Super 4 phase on Saturday, 6 September in the Asia Cup 2025. Earlier, after a five -time draw from five -time champion South Korea, India defeated Malaysia 4 -1 in the second super 4 match after a 2 -2 draw. This victory will boost the morale of Harmanpreet Singh’s team before the important match against China.
India is at the top with four points in two matches while China and Malaysia have three points. Korea, on the other hand, is out of the final race with one point. The top two teams from the Super 4 phase will go to the finals and there will be a lot of draw for India. After the average performance against Korea, India performed a better game against Malaysia, although the start was not very good. India lost an early goal but then made a brilliant comeback.
Along with this, about the victory over Malaysia, head coach Craig Fulton said that it is still not the best performance of the team and Indian players know that they are very much. The question is how to live up to expectations and the answer is also easy to improve their performance by paying attention to the nuances.
Let me tell you that in the tournament, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Rajinder Singh have shown a good game in midfield. His coordination with the forward line against Malaysia was amazing. Hardik especially made several opportunities while running with sharp dragging and ball alone. Manpreet, who has been serving Indian hockey for years, showed that the hunger for victory has not diminished within them. He not only made opportunities but also the architect of the goal.
Abhishek, Sukhjit Singh and Mandeep Singh took over the responsibility of attack and would like to maintain this rhythm. However, India will have to capitalize on every opportunity found within the circle and it is necessary to avoid harassment. Penalty corner coach will cause problems for Fulton. After a good start, captain Harmanpreet failed to capitalize on the penalty corner. Jugraj Singh, Sanjay and Amit Rohidas had the same condition.
The only six out of six penalty corners against Malaysia could be scored and he was also on rebound. On the other hand, 3 from India in the pool phase. Since losing 4, China has greatly improved its performance. Therefore, the Indian team will have to take precaution because a minor mistake may cause a minor mistake on the expectations of direct qualifying for the World Cup to be held in Belgium and Netherlands next year. Malaysia will face South Korea in another match of the Super 4 phase.
Disclaimer: Prabhasakshi has not edited this news. This news has been published from the feed of PTI-language.