Asian Games 2018: India eye another big win in men's hockey as they take on Hong Kong

Jakarta, August 21: Their campaign off to a rousing start with a record win, defending champions India will be eyeing another massive victory when they take on lowly Hong Kong China in their second pool match of the Asian Games here on Wednesday (August 22).

Asian Games Special Page | Asian Games Schedule

India hammered hosts Indonesia 17-0

The Indian Men's Hockey Team will lock horns with Hong Kong China in their second pool stage game of the 18th Asian Games 2018. Tune in to @SPNSportsIndia and @SonyLIV at 12:30 PM (IST) on 22nd August to watch the action LIVE!#IndiaKaGame #AsianGames2018 #INDvHKG pic.twitter.com/GFgWqXWXhG

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 21, 2018

The level of competition in Asian Games is by no means comparable to the world standard but a 17-0 walloping of any country can definitely be seen as a moral booster for India.

Ranked fifth in the world, the highest among the Asian countries, India are tipped the firm favourites to win their second consecutive Asian Games title. A title here is of huge importance for India coach Harendra Singh and he has already stated that anything less than a gold is not acceptable.

Veteran @imsardarsingh8 praises the team for an emphatic show and believes that there is room for improvement, as they prepare to face new challenges in the @asiangames2018. 🙌@TheHockeyIndia #AsianGamesOCA2018 #AsianGames2018 #AsianGames #EnergyOfAsia pic.twitter.com/Rrf4bjjvzd

— Asian Games 2018 Mascots (@AG2018Mascots) August 21, 2018

The Asian Games gold will earn India a direct entry to the Tokyo Olympics and provide them ample time to prepare best for the quadrennial extravaganza in 2020. It is expected to be another goalfest for India against Hong Kong China, who are ranked 45th in the world.

Against Indonesia on Monday, as many as nine Indian players registered their names in the scoresheet, including a hat-trick each from Dilpreet Singh, Simranjeet Singh and Mandeep Singh. And come Wednesday, the Indians would like to carry on the goal-scoring spree to lift their confidence ahead of other pool matches against Japan (on August 24), Korea (August 26) and Sri Lanka (August 28).

Harendra is expected to continue experimenting with his plans and personnel against Hong Kong China as well to provide all the players of his squad enough game time before the business end of the tournament.

The men's hockey event of the 18th Asian Games 2018 advances to its second day with 6 matches on the schedule. Here’s how the teams will line up against each other on 22nd August 2018.​#IndiaKaGame #AsianGames2018 pic.twitter.com/15fsIcttLa

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 21, 2018