RAJGIR, Aug. 30 -- It is quite easy to get captivated by Rajgir. Lush green fields, surrounding hills, the ruins of the ancient Nalanda university dot the landscape of this quaint little town. However, the decibel levels went through the roof here on Friday with a mix of Bhojpuri songs, firecrackers and cheers from the public as the Indian hockey team took the field at the Bihar Sports University Hockey Stadium for the Asia Cup opener against China. In the end, the 4,000-odd spectators, who braved the afternoon heat and humidity, got what they had come for - the hosts won 4-3 to start their Pool A campaign. Seven goals and 60 minutes of end-to-end hockey - the crowd were surely entertained but not India chief coach Craig Fulton. The South African wants his players to continue their continental dominance but the Harmanpreet Singh-led side were nowhere near that, just about scraping past a side that is ranked 16 places below them. It's true that China has made rapid strides in men's hockey, trying to follow the footsteps of its women's outfit which claimed silver at the Paris Olympics. The management has brought in many experts to prepare their team for LA 2028. Apart from chief coach Anthony Farry of Australia, they have also roped in Dutch experts such as Michel van den Heuvel and Roelant Oltmans, who is a former India coach. Beating them 1-0 in the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy final at Hulunbuir wasn't easy and they made sure it wasn't going to be here either. The nimble footed Chinese took the initiative regularly, weathering the conditions to not just trouble world No.7 India but also take the fight to them. Had it not been for Harmanpreet Singh's (20th, 33rd, 47th) hat-trick in addition to Jugraj Singh's flick (18th), India could have been stunned. China got their goals through Shihao Du (12th), Benhai Chen (35th) and Jiesheng Gao (41st). India were wasteful and rusty - Harmanpreet even missed a penalty stroke - while China looked much more fluid. Even when they lost seven successive matches in the Pro League, the Fulton coached side had looked better. "We played well enough to win but didn't play to our expectations. The first match was a good hurdle. There was a lot of fight in our team which was nice to see but we missed chances and conceded a few soft goals as well," said Fulton. While India's drag-flickers came to the party with all four goals, the defence was found sleeping in the face of quick Chinese counterattacks. It is ironic considering Fulton's primary mantra is "defend to win". It was the same defence which was found to be porous, especially in the closing stages, of the Pro League. "What was important was to get the three points," Fulton said. "I expect a fight from any team. We are the highest ranked team and favourites here, so every team is going to lift themselves to play us and we have to manage that challenge." It'll be critical for India to fill the gaps as China proved that favourites or not, India will have to earn every win if they hope to emerge winners and qualify for the World Cup. They next play world No.18 Japan on Sunday....