The defending champions India got off to a winning start in the Asian Champions Trophy after beating hosts China 3-0 in Hulunbuir on Sunday.
Goals from Sukhjeet Singh, Uttam Singh and Abhishek sealed the deal for India as China struggled to create chances.
The Olympic bronze medallist and only Asian team in Paris, were expected to dominate the proceedings against a young, inexperienced Chinese side. India started tentatively, not strong on the ball while played with intensity on the pitch.
However, once India scored opening goal, China found it tough to contain them. It was a superb finish in the 14h minute by Sukhjeet as he slid and deflected the ball in with one hand after meeting the pass from Jugraj Singh.
In the second quarter, it was all India as China's attacking game went out for a toss. India were strong on the ball and kept attacking from both the wings. The second goal came in the 27th minute from India's former junior team captain Uttam Singh. Harmanpreet's ball from defence found Abhishek who combined with Md. Raheel to create the shot but the latter's effort was blocked. The rebound went to Uttam who steadied himself and found back of the net with a thumping finish.
Things didn't change after the break and India quickly added a third. Abhishek, India's most gifted goal-scorer, collected the pass from Manpreet Singh who did well to win it in the midfield and the Indian forward unleashed his typical powerful reverse hit to beat the goalkeeper. With the goal, the match was more or less done.
China tried their best to create opportunities in the final quarter but were not good enough to break India's defence. India also created chances and should've scored a few, especially from penalty corners. Both Hamanpreet Singh and Jugraj had their dragflick opportunities but failed to add a goal to their names.
Nevertheless, it was an impressive start to the campaign, and they will look to keep up the winning momentum against Japan on Monday.
You can relive the match on our blog: