Riding on captain Harmanpreet Singh’s brace, India have secured a 3-2 win against Japan in an Asia Cup Hockey encounter at the Bihar Sports University Hockey Stadium in Rajgir.
With two wins in as many matches, India now top Pool A.
Mandeep Singh opened the scoring for India at the stroke of the 4th minute, and since then, India dominated possession almost throughout the match. Failure to convert penalty corners will be a massive concern for coach Craig Fulton going ahead and the Indian team will be eager to plug their gaps when they face Kazakhstan on Monday at the same venue.
With this win, India have secured a spot in the Super 4s stage as they progress ahead in the tournament. The match also marked an important milestone for Indian goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak as he celebrated his 150th international game.
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.