Asian Champions Trophy: India fail to go top after 1-1 draw against Japan

The Indian Hockey Team has failed to maintain its perfect record in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai after their 1-1 draw against Japan on Friday, August 4. The disappointing draw follows after India had started on a high with a 7-2 win against China on Thursday. The result now means Malaysia are the only side with a perfect record having defeated China earlier in the day. India after two matches are second but have a superior goal difference compared to South Korea.

What happened in the contest?

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After winning the opening contest by a big margin, the expectations were high from the home side as they started brightly. However, it were the visitors that struck the crushing blow for India as they broke the deadlock in the 28th minute of the contest to give Japan a deserved 1-0 lead. Ken Nagayoshi scored his first international goal for the side as they waved for a big upset. The Indian side would then push strong for the equaliser but were unsuccessful in the remainder of the second quarter.

13 minutes into the third quarter, India had some joy as they were awarded a penalty corner. The hosts made no mistake to find the back of the net as Harmanpreet Singh brought the eight-time Olympic champions at parity. The hosts were then on the front foot and had a series of opportunities to go get the three points, but were undone by a resolute Japanese defence. The scoreboard would then remain undisturbed at 1-1 for the rest of the contest as Japan stole a point.

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India’s next challenge

India will next take on table toppers Malaysia in a top of the table clash with a win seeing them all but through to the semifinals of the Asian Champions Trophy. The hosts will then take on South Korea on Monday, August 7 before closing the league campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Wednesday.

As things stand, Malaysia are top of the standing with six points and are the only team with a perfect record while both India and South Korea are separated by just goal difference.

The top four teams in the league stage will meet in the semifinals before the final takes place on Saturday, August 12.

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