It was clear from the Indian men's hockey team's two goals in the first three minutes of their Asian Champions Trophy encounter against Japan on Monday that this would be an easy win. After defeating hosts China 3-0 the day before at Hulunbuir City, China, the reigning champions cruised to their second consecutive victory, a 5-1 thumping of Japan, thanks to a brace from Sukhjeet Singh (2nd and 60th) and goals from Abhishek (3rd), Sanjay (17th), and Uttam Singh (54th). For Japan, Kazumasa Matsumoto scored the lone goal in the 41st minute. After two games, India leads the six-team standings with six points.
Global No. 5 India dominated the game, with the majority of it being played in the Japanese part of the Moqi Training Base. Sukhjeet Singh's goal gave the bronze medallists from the Paris Olympics a head start. Sanjay diverted a cross that Sukhjeet was trying to sweep in from the right side of the circle. India, who had a 3-0 lead, were in a comfortable position while Japan, who drew 5-all with Korea on Sunday, attempted to recover from their early nervousness. In the twenty-first minute, they forced a PC, but India's rushers blocked the flick, allowing the team to quickly counterattack. Jugraj Singh, attacking from the right, won a free hit with a superb turn. Following a series of quick, short passes, India's strikers narrowly missed the goal.
India attempted to maintain momentum after the ten-minute halftime break and played calmly to mount their first offensive in the third quarter, but Japan performed admirably to get the ball back. They eventually scored a field goal thanks to a well-planned attack, as Matsumoto pushed the ball beyond India goaltender Krishan Bahadur Pathak while the Indian defence was unprepared. Vice captain Vivek Sagar Prasad squandered a fantastic opportunity to give India the lead back, missing the goal by inches. Jarmanpreet's excellent stick work, which helped Uttam convert a nice field goal from the baseline, finally led to a fourth goal.
In the dying seconds, Player-of-the-Match Abhishek provided an assist for Sukhjeet, who added another. It was entirely a collaborative endeavour. We stayed true to our roots. We executed a strong offensive and made sure we were on target, Abhishek remarked. India converted one of Japan's two PC opportunities and had 27 circle penetrations compared to Japan's 11. Conversely, Japan was unable to convert any of the three short corner opportunities. South Korea and Pakistan tied 2-2, while China defeated Malaysia 4-2. On Wednesday, India will play Malasia in a rematch of the previous edition's final.
