India beat China 5-2 in Jalandhar at Asian Champions Trophy on Thursday

India defeated China 5-2 in Jalandhar on Thursday in the Asian Champions Trophy, prevailing after a tense contest in which the visitors defended resolutely before India broke through.

India entered the match as the stronger side but found it difficult to create clear openings against a Chinese team whose tactics had been described by coach Craig Fulton as unknown and hard to plan for; China packed the midfield, sought to force aerial play and relied on dense defending. The Indian side had to adapt its approach, using experience to gain entry to the Chinese circle and to prevent counterthreats.

The opening goal followed a long aerial from India’s 25-yard line by Jugraj Singh; Sukhjeet Singh controlled the pass just inside the circle and, after a couple of steps, struck a rasping hit over goalkeeper Huanyu Wu in the 12th minute. China’s structure remained compact and produced a couple of shots on goal before Yang Peng levelled with a penalty corner in the 26th minute.

A counterattack that checked Mandeep Singh resulted in a penalty corner for India; Harmanpreet Singh converted to restore the lead. India sustained momentum either side of the interval, a phase Craig Fulton had earlier admitted was frustratingly lacking, and two goals within the first four minutes after the restart — from Harmanpreet and Sukhjeet — pushed the score to 4-1.

China earned another penalty corner in the 36th minute, which Chen Chongcong converted to make it 4-2, and Jugraj Singh later added a penalty-corner strike in the 47th minute to complete India’s 5-2 victory. Fulton noted positives in India’s use of aerial play and the midfield’s repeated rotations that stretched the opposition.

Other results in the competition saw Malaysia beat Korea 3-1 with goals from Azimuddin Kamaruddin (10), Akhimullah Anuar (36-pc) and Faizal Saari (50) while Song Haeseong scored for Korea in the 31st minute; Japan defeated Bangladesh 1-0 via Raiki Fujishima’s 40th-minute penalty corner.

Fulton would also be happy with India’s pace and the fact that not only the aerials were used to good effect but also the midfield’s ability to constantly rotate and stretch the opposition thin to move ahead.