The Chinese team mostly comprises players from Inner Mongolia, where the Daur people have been playing Beikou, a game similar to field hockey, for about hundreds of years.
Having said that India cannot afford to take China lightly and the fragile defensive line will need to be at its best to counter any attacking threats from fast-paced Chinese forwards.
In other matches of the day, Malaysia will kickstart the tournament with a morning game against Bangladesh, followed by a showdown between South Korea and Chinese Taipei.
Japan and Kazakhstan will go head to head in the afternoon, followed by the India-China game.
Squads: India: Krishan B Pathak (GK), Suraj Karkera (GK), Sumit, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh.
Midfielders: Rajinder Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Mandeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Dilpreet Singh.
China: Ao Xu, Chen Qijun, Gao Jiesheng, Chen Chengfu, Meng Yuanfeng, Li Pengfei, Chen Chongcong (C), LU Yuanlin, Meng Dihao, Xu Jiebin, Du Shihao, Zhang Xiaojia, Ao Suozhu, Meng Nan, Lin Changliang, Guo Xiaolong, Wang Weihao (GK), Wang Caiyu (GK), Ao Yang, Chen Benhai.
Match starts at 3pm.
