The Indian hockey teams, both men and women, will aim to secure their Paris Olympics spots with a strong show in China. It’s expected, but winning anything less than gold at the Asian Games would be a major disappointment.
The Indian men’s team, ranked third globally and the highest-ranked Asian team, faces a tough challenge. The recent Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai, despite criticisms about scheduling and conditions, served as excellent preparation for all teams before the Asian Games. It allowed them to evaluate their competition and their strengths and weaknesses. India’s victory in the tournament reaffirmed its claim as the best on the continent, both on paper and on the field.
India is in Pool A with Japan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore, and Uzbekistan. To reach the semifinals, India needs to secure a top-two finish. While this might seem easy, the main challenge for the men will be to stay focused and not underestimate their opponents. Japan and Pakistan, the defending champions, are formidable competitors who could potentially cause an upset.
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India should learn from the 2018 experience. It was comfortably ahead but made a critical defensive mistake in the semifinal, leading to a shootout loss to Malaysia. While a lot has changed since then, both in terms of personnel and performances, India’s on-field discipline remains hit-or-miss, and the team would be hoping to avoid any blunders this time.
The squad, led by Harmanpreet Singh, is a mix of old and new, seeing the return of the experienced Lalit Upadhyay but missing the sharpness of Selvam Karthi and the position play of Akashdeep Singh upfront. While there are no major surprises, a bigger concern would be the lack of a backup to Harmanpreet in case he falters in the penalty corners, with Jugraj Singh omitted. Varun Kumar has not been up to par in recent times. Malaysia, ranked 10th, is likely to secure a top-two spot in Pool B. This sets the stage for a potentially tough semifinal showdown between the two strongest teams in the competition. South Korea, also in Pool B, poses a formidable challenge.
It might be a tad easier for the women to reach the semifinals, grouped with relatively weaker opponents in Pool A, but it won’t be a smooth road beyond that. The team selection itself was on the expected lines. With Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea as the other teams, the Indian women, also the highest ranked in the competition at seventh in the world, are expected to make the cut along with Korea.
The other pool has China, Japan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Thailand. It’s expected that China and Japan will secure spots in the semifinals. The competition among women in Asia is intense, with Japan, China, and Korea closely trailing India in the rankings at 10th, 11th, and 12th. Facing either Japan or China in the semifinals will be a significant test for the Indian women in terms of form and fitness. While the team’s recent results against strong teams such as Australia, England, and Germany were not stellar, the Indian women will hope to apply the lessons learned from facing these formidable European opponents, in Hangzhou.
SQUADS
India men’s hockey team
Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Varun Kumar, Hardik Singh (vice-captain), Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Akashdeep Singh, S Karthi, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Pawan, Mandeep Singh
India women’s hockey team
Savita (captain), Bichu Devi Kharibam, Deepika, Lalremsiami, Monika, Navneet Kaur, Neha, Nisha, Sonika, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary, Deep Grace Ekka (vice-captain), Vandana Katariya, Sangita Kumari, Vaishnavi Vittal Phalke, Nikki Pradhan, Sushila Chanu, Salima Tete.
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Friday, September 24 | 6:30am | MAS vs THA (M) |
| Friday, September 24 | 8:45am | IND vs UZB (M) |
| Friday, September 24 | 11am | JPN vs BAN (M) |
| Friday, September 24 | 1:15pm | KOR vs INA (M) |
| Friday, September 24 | 4pm | CHN vs OMA (M) |
| Friday, September 24 | 6:15pm | PAK vs SGP (M) |
| | |
| Monday, September 25 | 7:45am | KOR vs SGP (W) |
| Monday, September 25 | 10:15am | MAS vs HKG (W) |
| Monday, September 25 | 1:30pm | THA vs KAZ (W) |
| Monday, September 25 | 4pm | CHN vs INA (W) |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Tuesday, September 26 | 6:30am | IND vs SGP (M) |
| Tuesday, September 26 | 8:45am | MAS vs UMA (M) |
| Tuesday, September 26 | 11am | UZB vs JPN (M) |
| Tuesday, September 26 | 1:15pm | PAK vs BAN (M) |
| Tuesday, September 26 | 4pm | INA vs CHN (M) |
| Tuesday, September 26 | 6:15pm | KOR vs THA (M) |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Wednesday, September 27 | 7:45am | JPN vs INA (W) |
| Wednesday, September 27 | 10:15am | IND vs SGP (W) |
| Wednesday, September 27 | 1:30pm | KOR vs HKG (W) |
| Wednesday, September 27 | 4pm | CHN vs KAZ (W) |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Thursday, September 28 | 6:30am | UZB vs PAK (M) |
| Thursday, September 28 | 8:45am | BAN vs SGP (M) |
| Thursday, September 28 | 11am | OMA vs THA (M) |
| Thursday, September 28 | 1:15pm | INA vs MAS (M) |
| Thursday, September 28 | 4pm | CHN vs KOR (M) |
| Thursday, September 28 | 6:15pm | JPN vs IND (M) |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Friday, September 29 | 7:45am | KAZ vs INA (W) |
| Friday, September 29 | 10:15am | THA vs JPN (W) |
| Friday, September 29 | 1:30pm | HKG vs SGP (W) |
| Friday, September 29 | 4pm | MAS vs IND (W) |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Saturday, September 30 | 6:30am | SGP vs JPN (M) |
| Saturday, September 30 | 8:45am | OMA vs INA (M) |
| Saturday, September 30 | 11am | MAS vs KOR (M) |
| Saturday, September 30 | 1:15pm | BAN vs UZB (M) |
| Saturday, September 30 | 4pm | THA vs CHN (M) |
| Saturday, September 30 | 6:15pm | PAK vs IND (M) |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Sunday, October 1 | 7:45am | SGP vs MAS (W) |
| Sunday, October 1 | 10:15am | INA vs THA (W) |
| Sunday, October 1 | 1:30pm | KOR vs IND (W) |
| Sunday, October 1 | 4pm | CHN vs JPN (W) |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Monday, October 2 | 6:30am | KOR vs OMA (M) |
| Monday, October 2 | 8:45am | THA vs INA (M) |
| Monday, October 2 | 11am | SGP vs UZB (M) |
| Monday, October 2 | 1:15pm | IND vs BAN (M) |
| Monday, October 2 | 4pm | JPN vs PAK (M) |
| Monday, October 2 | 6:15pm | |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Tuesday, October 3 | 7:45am | IND vs HKG (W) |
| Tuesday, October 3 | 10:15am | MAS vs KOR (W) |
| Tuesday, October 3 | 1:30pm | JPN vs KAZ (W) |
| Tuesday, October 3 | 4pm | THA vs CHN (W) |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Wednesday, October 4 | 7:45am | Men's Classification (11th-12th) A6 vs B6 |
| Wednesday, October 4 | 10:15am | Men's Classification (9th-10th) A5 vs B5 |
| Wednesday, October 4 | 1:30pm | Men's semifinal 1 |
| Wednesday, October 4 | 4pm | Men's semifinal 2 |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Thursday, October 5 | 11am | Women's Classification (9th-10th) A5 vs B5 |
| Thursday, October 5 | 1:30pm | Women's semifinal 1 |
| Thursday, October 5 | 4pm | Women's semifinal 2 |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Friday, October 6 | 7:45am | Men's Classification (7th-8th) A4 v B4 |
| Friday, October 6 | 10:15am | Men's Classification (5th-6th) A3 v B3 |
| Friday, October 6 | 1:30pm | Men's Classification (3rd-4th) |
| Friday, October 6 | 4pm | Men's Final |
| DATE | TIME (IN IST) | MATCH |
| Saturday, October 7 | 7:45am | Women's Classification (7th-8th) A4 v B4 |
| Saturday, October 7 | 10:15am | Women's Classification (5th-6th) A3 v B3 |
| Saturday, October 7 | 1:30pm | Women's Classification (3rd-4th) |
| Saturday, October 7 | 4pm | Women's Final |
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