India vs China Asian Champions Trophy 2023 Hockey Highlights: Harmanpreet, Varun grab braces to gift IND 7-2 win vs CHN

SAVE! ROHIDAS FIRES IN A SHOT AND IT WAS GOING TOWARDS GOAL! WEIHAO GETS A HAND TO SAVE THE DEFLECTED SHOT!

India 0-0 China, 3'

The action begins as the first quarter gets underway!

India 0-0 China

India: PR Sreejesh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Sumit, Shamsher Singh, Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Amit Rohidas.

China: Weihao Wang, Qijun Chen, Chengfu Chen, Jiesheng Gao, Wenghui E, Chengcong Chen, Zixiang Guo, Shihao Du, Changliang Lin, Lei Meng, Weibao Ao.

The action is set to begin as both teams walk in for their respective national anthems!

Few minutes for the match to begin as India face China in their campaign opener!

The tournament will be a warm-up event for India ahead of the Asian Games, scheduled for September-October in Hangzhou.

India, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan and China will aim to win the title at the seventh edition of the continental meet.

Ahead of the tournament, India's Hardik Singh said, "It is really special for everyone that the Hero Asian Champions Trophy is being held in Chennai. The way the crowd supported us in Rourkela and Bhubaneswar, we hope that the fans come in huge numbers, fill the stadium and support us. I am looking forward to playing in Chennai."

With India set to face Pakistan on August 9, the hosts have already received a warning from their opposition head coach. Speaking on Wednesday, Muhammad Saqlain said, "Definitely, preparation-wise India is ahead since it has been playing of late and is coming off a stint in Europe, whereas we have arrived right from our homes. It is the same even in cricket."

"We want to play more matches against India that would be beneficial for both sides. Obviously, India is at an advantage here in terms of fitness. But we also prepare in the same hot weather conditions, and we will surprise them when we meet."

South Korea have begun their title defence with a 2-1 win vs Japan in the tournament opener.

China will be playing in their first competitive tournament this year, having missed out on the World Cup.

After their opener tonight, India is scheduled to play Japan in their second match on Friday, August 4 followed by their match against Malaysia on Sunday, 6th August. India will play Korea on Monday, August 7 followed by a day's rest before they take on nemesis Pakistan in a highlight-anticipated match on Wednesday, August 9 before going into the knockouts.

India chief coach Craig Fulton said, "It is great that we are getting to play these matches ahead of the Asian Games. It gives us the ideal platform to study the other teams and also see how players excel in the roles they have been assigned to execute. We had some very good matches in Spain and a good training block before that in Bengaluru. I am excited and looking forward to the matches here."

Ahead of the match, India captain Harmanpreet said, "In tournaments like these, no team can be taken lightly. We are looking forward to these matches and seeing where we stand when we play Asian teams. Of course, we want to win every match and perform well here ahead of the Asian Games."

India have won the Asian Champions Trophy in 2011, 2016 ad 2018. Pakistan have claimed the title in 2012, 2013 and 2018. Both countries shared it in 2018 after the final was abandoned due to rain. Both countries are most successful in the tournament's history.

IND: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (capt), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Hardik Singh (vice-captain), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, S Karthi

CHN: Chen Qijun, Chen Chengfu, Gao Jiesheng, Liu Junjie, Ao Xu, Pan Dongquan, E Wenhui, Chen Chongcong, Guo Zixiang, Du Shihao, Ao Suozhu, Chen Benhai, Lin Changliang, Meng Lei, Ao Weibao, Huang Jingcheng, Zhang Bo, Zhu Weijiang, Wang Weihao, Wang Caiyu

Hello and welcome everyone to our live coverage of today's Asian Champions Trophy 2023 match between India and China, straight from Chennai. Stay tuned folks for an exciting thriller!