India make mincemeat of Japan to register consecutive wins in Asian Champions Trophy hockey

Image Source : GETTY IMAGES Indian men's hockey team.

India registered their second consecutive win in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy as they steamrolled Japan 5-1 at the Moqi Training Base, Hulunbuir (China) on Monday, September 9. Akin to the game against China, it was Sukhjeet Singh who opened India's account with a goal as soon as the whistle was blown by the referee.

Before the Japanese defence could even take a breather, India struck again in the form of Abhishek. Abhishek rushed into the Japanese half and shattered their defence to score another field goal. Two consecutive goals in a space of a few seconds forced the Japanese side to take a back seat and focus entirely on plugging their defence.

Japan did well to deny India more opportunities to score in the first half despite the Men in Blue dominating the ball possession. The second quarter began with the same flow and Japan didn't have much to rejoice about as the Indian forwards pressed the accelerator.

It took India hardly two minutes in the second quarter to make it 3-0. The third goal came from Sanjay, his first of the tournament. Notably, captain Harmanpreet Singh who usually takes the penalty corner for India gave the opportunity to Sanjay and the youngster cashed in.

The third quarter brought a change in the complexion of the game as Japan fought back and stunned India with a field goal. Kazumasa Matsumoto breached the opposition's defence and struck a powerful shot a few metres away from the goal post and a deflection from the stick of an Indian defender deceived the Indian goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak.

The fourth quarter saw the Japanese team push India to a certain extent before Uttam Singh converted a wonderful pass from Jarmanpreet Singh to give his team a three-goal lead (4-1). Sukhjeet stunned Japan with his second of the match in the last minute and helped India win the contest 5-1.