Chinese stand in between in-form India and Asian Games final

Hangzhou: Just two wins away from reclaiming the gold medal after a hiatus of 41 years, a confident Indian women's hockey team will look to overcome a partisan crowd when it takes on hosts and three-time champions China in the semifinal of the Asian Games here on Wednesday.

The Indian women came close in the 2018 edition in Jakarta before settling for a silver but this time around the Savita Punia-led side is desperate to clinch the country's second gold medal at the continental showpiece.

India's only gold at the Asian Games came in the 1982 New Delhi edition, where women's hockey was first introduced. Since then, they have won three bronze and two silver medals but the yellow metal has eluded them.

But this time around, the Indian women are in top form and look favourites to win the title here.

Going by world rankings, India are the top side in the competition at No.7, while China are placed in 12th position, and it would be a big letdown if they return without gold medal from here.

India have been nothing short of exceptional in the competition so far, finishing unbeaten in the pool stages. They kicked off their campaign with a 13-0 win against Singapore, followed by 6-0 victory over Malaysia, a hard-fought 1-1 draw against South Korea, and a resounding 13-0 win over Hong Kong.

Barring the match against South Korea, the Indian defence was hardly tested and the Savita-led backline needs to be on its toes.

The forwardline and mid-field worked in tandem to create goal-scoring chances for India from both field play as well as penalty corners and they would look to continue in the same vein.

Deepika and Deep Grace Ekka have been phenomenal with set pieces, while Vandana Katariya, young Sangita Kumari, Navneet Kaur and Lalremsiami scored some fantastic field goals.

India captain Savita is satisfied with the performance of the side so far but warned her teammates not to be complacent.

"This is a significant moment for us. We've performed exceptionally well so far, but the semifinal is a different challenge. China are a formidable opponent with a rich history in the Asian Games. But we're fully prepared for the challenge," Savita said.

China too were impressive in the pool stage, recording big wins over Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Thailand, but their only blip was the 0-2 defeat to Japan.

In terms of head-to-head records, India hold a slight advantage, having won 11 out of 22 matches against China's nine victories while two games ended in a draw.

And, the nimble-footed Chinese would bank on home support to upset India and enter their sixth final at the Asian Games.