Ratings: Rahul KP shines in India's defeat to China in Asian Games

Rahul KP scored a stunner and India's sole goal of the evening.

India surrendered to China in the 19th Asian Games on 19 September, 2023 at Hangzhou. The Dragon Team scored five past India, with only Rahul KP registering the solitary goal for the Blue Tigers. China, after this win are in an advantageous position in the group. Meanwhile, India have to now win both their fixtures against Bangladesh and Myanmar to seal a spot in the knockouts.

In this article, we'll take a look at how the players performed.

China

Jiaqi han: 7

Wasn’t the busiest of goalkeepers. Had some regulation saves to make and did well. However, should have done better in stopping Rahul KP's goal.

Zhenao Wang: 8

Put in the shift down right. Did well to neutralize Bryce Miranda’s run.

Chenjie Zhu: 6

Missed a penalty in the first half. Did not have to do much defensively. Contributed offensively with his towering presence.

Shenglong Jiang: 8 

Like his partner, he did not have to do much defensively. Complimented his teammates well, to avert the danger.

Yang Liu: 8

Was bossing down the left hand side for China. Provided good crosses and stretched the Indian defence and midfield well.

Tianyi Gao: 9

Opened the scoring in the first half. Sat right in front of defence and nullified the attacks coming down the middle.

Haijan Wang: 7.5

Controlled the tempo against the inexperienced Indian midfielders.

Haoyang Xu: 8

Operated at the higher end of the pitch. Blasted a few shots at Gurmeet Singh, but those were dealt well.

Tan Long: 8

Operated on the right and forced mistakes from Sumit Rathi. Glanced a few shots but were dealt by Gurmeet.

Dai Wei Jun: 9 

Indian defenders kept him quiet for 60 mins before he launched a shot from range which gave the lead to China for the second time.

Tao Qianglong: 9.5

Tao did really well on the left. As the game progressed, Indian players looked tired and it was easier for the hosts to captivate. Most importantly, he scored two goals today!

Substitutes

Fao Hang: 8

Opened the floodgates for China. Instrumental in creating chances from the right. Sneaked in two assists and a late goal during injury time of the second half. 

Ruofan Liu:  8

Combined well with the forwards to create chances. Got a good run keeping in mind the fixtures ahead for China in the Asian Games.

Abdulahan: 8.5

Had the easiest job in the game and that was to run at India's defence.

He Yupeng: 7.5

Intercepted two attacking runs from India. 

Huang Jianhu: 7

Stand, watch and pass the ball. That is what Jianchu had to do.

India

Gurmeet Singh: 8

'Man of the match' worthy performance despite the score line. Saved a penalty along with few half a dozen shots.

Lalchungnunga: 5

Tired and perplexed on playing the hosts.  Poor positioning and game plan. Made a few interceptions however.

Sandesh Jhingan: 5.5

Was a warrior at the back but as the game progressed he was exposed to the technical superiority of China. 

Ayush Dev Chhetri: 5

Inexperience and physical inferiority in the middle got the better rather worse of Ayush. Misplaced a pass for a penalty.

Sumit Rathi: 5

Was exposed with his unfamiliar left-back role, however dealt with aerial balls and set-pieces in the first half. Made few good interceptions as well but as the story goes, he was not fit for the full game.

Amarjit Singh: 5.5

Was exposed to physically strong midfielders but did well for a span of 15 minutes when India were in control of the game.

Rahim Ali: 5

Got two chances in the game but did not keep composure and went for glory.

Rahul KP: 7

Got a goal and made a few good runs but wasn’t able to run with the same tenacity throughout.

Sunil Chhetri: 6

Hardly had anything to do offensively, but helped the midfield to generate numerical superiority in the middle of the park.

Bryce Miranda: 7

Unarguably, the best outfield player. He put in a solid shift until cramps got a better of him.

Abdul Rabeeh: 6.5

Did well on the right hand side. Provided the assist until the floodgates opened.

Substitutes

Vincy  Barretto: 5.5

Made a couple of offensive runs but most of the time was found helping the defence.

Samuel Lyngdoh: N/A

Rohit Danu: N/A

Afzal Noorani: N/A