India 7-0 China: Fulton's side put on attacking clinic en-route Asia Cup final

India romped into the 2025 Hockey Asia Cup final with a thorough dismantling of China, defeating them 7-0 to top the Super 4s and set up a title clash against Korea tomorrow. Craig Fulton's side put on an attacking masterclass as Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Sukhjeet, and Abhishek (x2) scored seven unanswered goals in a statement performance from the hosts.

With Korea staging a comeback from 1-3 down to defeat Malaysia 4-3 earlier, the pressure on India was off as they could afford to lose by five goals against China and would still qualify for the final.

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Craig Fulton dismissed that notion ahead of the game, noting that all three points were his side's objective and they came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders. Lakra wasted no time giving India the lead in the fifth minute, collecting a low cross from Jarmanpreet Singh, before calmly slotting it into the net. That set the tone for India as Harmanpreet Singh's devastating aerials always found an Indian shirt - as it did for Lakra's goal - and the low crosses were sent in with composed finishes.

Just two minutes after Lakra's opening strike, India doubled their lead via a PC. Harmanpreet's low drive was saved by Weihao Wang in the Chinese goal, but Dilpreet was alert to tap the rebound in. The only minor negative for India was Mandeep's profligacy in front of goal in the first quarter, but that was soon put to bed early in the second quarter as the forward found the net after another Harmanpreet PC was blocked. India were feasting on the rebounds, but their attacking play was also dragging China all over the pitch as they went into half-time with a 3-0 lead.

The attacking impetus did not die down in the second half, Lakra once again proving himself to be a real menace with clever dribbling into the left side of the circle, before his low cross was diverted by Dilpreet into the path of Rajkumar Pal, who tapped it down into goal. Dilpreet once more turned provider, finding Sukhjeet with a cutback and despite slipping, he let fly a powerful finish as India led 5-0 after 39 minutes. Tellingly for Fulton, while his attack was purring, India maintained their shape in defence, allowing China no chances, as the opponent's heads dropped.

India scored their sixth right from pushback in the final quarter, with Dilpreet and Sukhjeet beating challenges with ease before setting up Abhishek to rifle an shot into an empty net, Wang being cleared by Dilpreet in the build-up. There was time for Abhishek to apply the final knockout punch, as he collected a first-time diversion from Lakra, wrong-footed his marker in the circle, and drove a powerful shot past Wang to make it 7-0 for India in the 49th minute. That proved to be enough as India saw out the rest of the game with ease, setting up their final against Korea tomorrow (7:30 PM), and a shot at World Cup qualification.

You can relive the match as-it-happened below.