India defeat Japan in a thrilling 3-2 contest to reach Super 4s

India secured a 3-2 win over Japan in the Hockey Asia Cup, advancing to the Super 4s. Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh were key scorers as Japan's Kawabe netted twice

Rajgir: The Indian men’s team continued their winning form in the Asia Cup with a 3-2 victory against Japan in their second Pool A fixture at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium in Bihar on Sunday. With this win, India have secured a spot in the Super 4s stage as they progress ahead in the tournament.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh (5’, 46’) and Mandeep Singh (4′) scored goals for India while Kosei Kawabe (38′,59′) scored a brace for Japan. The match also marked an important milestone for Indian goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak as he celebrated his 150th international game.

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India made a bright start to the first quarter, scoring two back-to-back goals in the first five minutes to assert their dominance. In the fourth minute, Sukhjeet Singh collected the ball on the baseline and played a perfect pass to Mandeep Singh (4′) as he beat his marker in front of the goal and finished it into the net to open the scoring. In the very next minute, India won their first Penalty Corner of the day and after two retakes, captain Harmanpreet Singh (5′) fired a powerful shot that struck the Japanese goalkeeper’s foot and went into the goal to increase the home side’s lead. Japan too won a Penalty Corner in the 13th minute, however, it didn’t amount to anything.

Japan improved upon their performance in the second quarter as we saw end-to-end action between the two sides, but India’s resilient defence ensured the lead remained intact. In the 19th minute, Japan came close to scoring as Ryosuke Shinohara dribbled down the middle and fired a backhand shot, which went narrowly wide. Japan won their 2nd Penalty Corner in the 24th minute but Jarmanpreet saved it on the line and cleared it away for a retake which was eventually stopped by India. India won their 2nd Penalty Corner towards the end of the first half, but Amit Rohidas couldn’t find the target with his dragflick.

Japan found their first goal in the third quarter as Kosei Kawabe (38′) did well to collect a difficult pass inside the circle and followed it with an angular shot, finding the bottom right corner past the keeper. After the goal, Japan had a spring in their steps as they started attacking aggressively in search of an equaliser, but India ensured their controlled the possession and tempo of the game to not give away another goal. With just seconds left in the quarter, India won a crucial Penalty Corner which was converted beautifully by Captain Harmanpreet Singh (46′) through the goalkeeper’s legs to reclaim the two-goal cushion for India.

In the opening minutes of the final quarter, Japan won a Penalty Corner but were met with two incredible back-to-back saves by Indian goalkeeper Suraj Karkera. Moments later, Abhishek did well to find space inside the circle from the right as he struck a strong backhand shot towards goal, but it was saved well by the Japanese keeper. In the dying moments of the match, Japan’s Kosei Kawabe (59′) struck his second goal of the day as he won the ball on the rebound inside the circle and scored past the keeper to reduce the deficit. Captain Harmanpreet Singh was given a yellow card in the final minute as India were down to 10 men, but they slowed down the proceedings and held their ground to protect the slim lead and emerge victorious.

India will aim to continue their winning momentum in their final Pool A clash against Kazakhstan on Monday.