The reigning champions, the Indian men’s hockey team, will start their defence of the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy title on Sunday, September 8, against hosts China at the Moqi training base in Hulunbuir City, Mongolia, from 3:30 PM IST.
The Harmanpreet Singh-led men in blue are riding high after their second consecutive bronze medal at the Olympics in Paris last month. India, who are also the most successful team in the history of the Asian Champions Trophy, having won the silverware four times (one shared with Pakistan in 2018), will once again be the favourites to take the trophy home in the six-team, ten-day tournament in China.
India’s biggest highlight before the match would be the replacement for their veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who announced his retirement after the Paris Olympics. Hockey India has named 27-year-old Krishna Bahadur Pathak as India’s new regular goalkeeper during the squad announcement for the 2024 Asian Hockey Champions Trophy. The young Indian, who debuted for India in 2018, has only played in one tournament as India’s first-choice goalkeeper, the 2018 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, when the regular goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was rested. This makes the 2024 Champions Trophy only his second instance as India’s regular goalkeeper at the senior level.
Apart from India, the tournament’s second most successful team, Pakistan, will also be in action against Malaysia from 1:15 PM IST.
India will take on China at the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy on Sunday, September 8.
The match between India and China at the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy will begin at 3:30 PM IST.
The live telecast of the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy matches on September 8 will be available on Sony Sports Network.
The live streaming of the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy matches on September 8 will be available on the SonyLIV app and website in India.