Asian Games 2023: India defeated Japan to maintain first place in Pool A of the men's hockey competition in Hangzhou thanks to a brace from youthful attacker Abhishek.
Shortly
- India won 2-0 over the reigning champions Japan.
- India has won three straight games to lead Pool A in men's hockey.
- In men's hockey, India will next play Pakistan on Saturday.
Abhishek, a young forward, scored twice as India defeated Japan 4-2 to win their third straight game and advance to the quarterfinals of the men's hockey competition at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Thursday. Mandeep Singh (24th) and Amit Rohidas (34) were the other Indian scorers. Abhishek (13th, 48th) scored two field goals.
In the final five minutes of the fourth and final quarter, Japan rallied and cut the deficit to one goal by scoring two quick goals by Genki Mitani (57th) and Ryosei Kato (60th). India's second Pool A match comes on Saturday against arch-rival Pakistan.
third-best in the world While Japan intermittently displayed promise, India controlled the game's action for the majority of the time. The assured Indians, coming off two straightforward victories, got off to a fast start and won their first penalty corner in the fifth minute, but captain Harmanpreet Singh's flick missed the mark. In the 12th minute, Japan was awarded their first penalty corner of the competition, but goalie Krishan Bahadur Pathak stopped Shota Yamada's attempt, preventing the Japanese from taking advantage of the situation. The next penalty corner was won by India, but the outcome remained the same.
A minute later, however, Abhishek scored with a reverse stick after Hardik Singh assisted him to give India the lead. India was awarded another penalty corner, but the Japanese fought valiantly in defence.
Takshi Yoshikawa of Japan stopped Lalit Upadhyay's timely deflection of Jarmanpreet Singh's cross with just seconds remaining in the first quarter. In the 24th minute, Mandeep extended India's advantage after diving full length to deflect in Nilkanta's pass. After the ends were changed, India earned their fourth penalty corner, but Yoshikawa stopped Sanjay's shot. Soon, India won back-to-back penalty corners, with Rohidas converting the second one with a strong drag-flick to the top right corner of Japan's goal. As the third quarter came to a close, India appeared dangerous and kept up their pressure on the Japanese defence in an effort to score more goals.
Abhishek and Mandeep worked well together to help India make the score 4-0 three minutes into the fourth quarter. This was their second goal of the game. But the Japanese didn't give up easily and rallied to score two goals quickly in the game's final five minutes.
In the course of three minutes, the Japanese were awarded three penalty corners, and from the third one, Mitani scored a beautiful variation goal to put the ball in the back of the net. Just before the final horn sounded, Japan managed to gain another point through a counterattack led by Kato.