In the heart of Jiangsu province, where China’s hockey revival continues to gather momentum, India’s developmental squads the India A Men and Women Hockey Teams embarked on a crucial tour designed not just for victory, but for growth.
Across Changzhou and Gansu, the men’s and women’s teams took on their Chinese counterparts in a series that tested systems, character, and the depth of India’s hockey ecosystem.
The results told two contrasting stories: the men’s team dominated with an unbeaten 4–0 record against Gansu Club, while the women’s side battled fiercely but fell short of a win against Liaoning, managing four draws and a narrow defeat in a five-match series. Yet beneath these surface outcomes lies a deeper narrative one that reveals the evolving balance between dominance, development, and discovery in Indian hockey.
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The India A Men’s Team, featuring several Paris 2024 Olympians and emerging stars, entered the tour with confidence and played like it. The opening encounter set the tone, a 7–0 demolition of Gansu Club driven by a hat-trick from Angad Bir Singh and goals from Uttam Singh and Venkatesh Dhananjay, alongside penalty corner conversions from Varun Kumar and Selvam Karthi.
The second match proved tighter, but India held firm for a 2–1 win, courtesy of Selvam and young forward Aditya Arjun, who showcased exceptional poise in the circle. By the third match, the Indian machine was in full rhythm an 8–0 rout led by captain Sanjay Rana, who scored off a penalty corner, while Aditya, Venkatesh, and Karthi each added to the tally. The finale was a goal-fest India winning 8–3, with Aditya once again striking twice to finish as the series’ top scorer with four goals. Sanjay converted two more penalty corners, while Rajkumar Pal and Uttam Singh joined the party.
Across four games, the men’s side tallied 25 goals while conceding just four, underscoring their dominance. It was an exhibition of attacking flair, structural fluidity, and bench strength but one that also raised questions about the quality of opposition.
The Gansu Club, by most competitive measures, represented a regional-level Chinese side. Comparable to a mid-tier domestic Indian team, it provided limited tactical resistance. For players like Sanjay and Uttam already seasoned internationals the series served more as a confidence-building exercise than a true developmental test.
For the coaching staff, the tour validated systemic cohesion and confirmed that the next layer of Indian hockey talent understands the national tactical framework. Yet, it offered minimal data on adaptability under pressure a vital element when facing top-tier sides like Belgium or Australia.
Women’s Team: Resilience Forged in Fire
If the men’s campaign was a display of control, the India A Women’s Team’s tour was a study in endurance. Facing a formidable Liaoning side one that feeds players directly into China’s senior national team India’s young women endured an intense five-match battle.
They opened with a 1–1 draw, Albela Rani Toppo finding the equalizer late in the fourth quarter. The second game saw Liaoning edge India 3–1, despite a spirited goal from Manisha Chauhan, who captained the side with maturity and tactical discipline. The third and fourth encounters saw India fight back for 1–1 and 2–2 draws, with Manisha again on target alongside contributions from Pooja Yadav and Kajal Sadashiv. In the final clash, India came from behind thrice to secure a 3–3 thriller, with goals from Kajal, Pooja, and Deepika Soreng, underlining their attacking promise.
Despite a 0–1–4 (W-L-D) record, the women’s team’s performance carried immense developmental weight. Liaoning’s roster featured multiple Chinese internationals, mirroring the structure and style of a top Asian national side. For India’s young core including Deepika Soreng, Albela Rani, and Pooja Yadav this was a rare chance to measure themselves against near world-class opposition.
The exposure forced the players to confront issues of defensive shape, set-piece execution, and midfield transition gaps that will now shape Hockey India’s next phase of development programming.
To understand the contrasting outcomes of these tours is to grasp the purpose of India’s High-Performance Pipeline (HPP) a strategic framework connecting junior, ‘A’, and senior national teams. The “A” squads serve as the bridge layer, where promising juniors and fringe seniors are exposed to international conditions without the pressures of ranking points. The aim isn’t simply to win it’s to generate data, refine systems, and assess readiness. From that perspective, the China tour achieved two distinct outcomes:
| Team | Opponent | Result | Opponent Strength | Developmental Value |
| India A Men | Gansu Club | 4–0–0 | Low (Regional) | Moderate (System Validation) |
| India A Women | Liaoning | 0–4–1 | High (Elite Domestic) | High (Tactical Exposure) |
For the men, the series confirmed fitness, structure, and attacking chemistry critical for maintaining the rhythm of the Paris 2024 bronze medal-winning core. For the women, however, every minute against Liaoning served as a stress test of the next generation’s composure and adaptability especially as China continues its rapid ascent after their 2024 Olympic silver and 2025 Asia Cup title.
Several standout performers emerged across both squads.
For the men, Aditya Arjun Lalage, one of the youngest forwards on tour, impressed with his composure and opportunism, suggesting readiness for higher-level exposure. Captain Sanjay Rana, with over 70 senior caps, showcased why he remains a cornerstone of India’s defensive line and leadership group.
For the women, Captain Manisha Chauhan’s resilience through adversity was particularly noteworthy. Leading a team that endured four defeats yet remained cohesive demonstrated elite mental strength and leadership maturity qualities that will likely fast-track her continued involvement in senior selection pools.
Meanwhile, Deepika Soreng, a six-cap forward who has already represented India in the FIH Pro League, gained valuable experience against the kind of disciplined Chinese defense she will face at major tournaments. While the lack of goals underlined her current technical limitations in tight spaces, it also clarified the precise developmental areas first-touch control, acceleration in the circle, and penalty corner generation that must be refined before her full senior integration.
Strategic Takeaways and Recommendations
The China tour highlighted both strengths and structural inefficiencies within India’s developmental pipeline.
- Opponent Vetting Needs Overhaul: The men’s team’s dominance over a weak opponent suggests the need for stricter opponent selection standards. Future “A” tours should guarantee a minimum competitive exposure index (CEI) ideally involving top-tier domestic or national reserve sides of FIH Top 15 countries.
- Women’s Tactical Lessons Must Be Prioritized: The Liaoning series provided invaluable analytical data. The women’s pipeline must focus on transition play under pressure, set-piece conversion, and defensive stability against sustained presses all areas where the Chinese side exposed gaps.
- Leadership Testing Was a Success: Both Sanjay and Manisha passed vital psychological tests the former by maintaining focus in dominance, the latter by inspiring belief in adversity. These leadership validations are among the tour’s most meaningful outcomes.
- Budget Allocation Should Reflect Developmental ROI: High-quality opposition yields greater long-term value than lopsided wins. Hockey India should allocate future tour resources where competitive realism is guaranteed.
The India A men’s and women’s tours of China were, in essence, parallel laboratories one confirming structure, the other revealing strain. The men’s squad left China with confidence; the women’s team, with clarity. Both outcomes, in their own ways, serve the broader mission of Indian hockey’s sustained global resurgence. If Hockey India can align opponent quality with developmental objectives, the “A” team program will continue to be the backbone of the nation’s hockey excellence.
Because in elite sport, not every victory comes on the scoreboard some are earned quietly, in the data, in the lessons, and in the will to improve.
