Asian Champions Trophy Hockey: Abhishek’s brace propels India to 4-1 win over Japan

Image credit: Hockey India India continued their winning campaign in the men’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament with a convincing 4-1 win over Japan on Friday. Striker Abhishek Nain scored twice as the five-time champions registered their third straight win in the tournament.India opened their campaign with a 13-0 win over Bangladesh before beating China 5-2. Meanwhile, Japan beat South Korea 3-2 and Bangladesh 1-0 in their first two matches.Abhishek (11th, 51st minute) scored two field goals while captain Harmanpreet Singh (47th) converted India’s only penalty corner of the game. Vishnukant Singh (56) also scored a field goal.Japan’s only goal was scored by Shota Yamada (15th) from a penalty kick.Asian Games champions India take on Malaysia on Sunday. India defeated Malaysia 5-1 in the recent Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Japan will face China in the next match.

Abhishek gives India the lead, Japan strikes back

Japan started the match with more possession and soon put pressure on the Indian defence. They earned a penalty corner in the second minute, but Ken Nagayoshi’s attempt from a variation went wide.India took some time to settle into the match. There was a lack of coordination between the middle and forward lines, with vice-captain Hardik Singh doing most of the work without much support.With Mandeep Singh missing from the match, the Indian forwards also struggled to create clear scoring chances.However, India broke the deadlock in the 11th minute with a well-worked field goal.Hardik started the move and found Sukhjeet Singh inside the circle near the left corner. Sukhjeet then played the ball to Abhishek who was playing his 150th international match. Abhishek made no mistake and guided the ball into the goal to give India a 1-0 lead.Japan responded with another penalty corner but their attempt went wide.They continued to pressure India, earning two more penalty corners in the final seconds of the first quarter. The second attempt resulted in a penalty after the ball hit the body of Sanjay. Shota Yamada converted it past Indian goalkeeper Suraj Karkera to make it 1-1.

Japan’s defense keeps India calm

Japan defended in numbers and made it difficult for the Indian attackers to find space inside the circle.Their man-to-man shooting was effective and India struggled to create clear-cut chances. The teams went into the halftime break tied at 1:1.India did not win a single penalty corner in the first half.Three minutes into the third quarter, Hardik created a good chance for Sukhjeet, but the striker’s shot from the hoop went wide.Japan continued their good play and earned their fourth penalty corner in the 36th minute. However, captain Raiki Fujishima’s flick went over the bar.India also came close to scoring when Shilanand Lakra attempted a reverse strike after receiving a defence-splitting pass from Amit Rohidas. But Japanese goalkeeper Takumi Kitagawa made a save.

Harmanpreet, Abhishek and Vishnukant seal the win for India

With the score still tied at 1-1 after three quarters, India stepped up their attack in the final 15 minutes.The home team earned the first penalty corner of the match in the 46th minute. Captain Harmanpreet Singh made the opportunity count with a powerful low swing to give India a 2-1 lead.The goal gave India some space and the attackers began to put Japan’s defense under constant pressure.Abhishek scored his second goal of the match in the 51st minute after another good attacking save to extend India’s lead to 3-1.Vishnukant Singh then added another goal four minutes before the final whistle. He received a perfectly placed aerial pass from Harmanpreet to complete the move to make it 4-1.India maintained their three-wicket lead to claim their third consecutive win in the tournament.