India got off the blocks with a dominant 5-1 win over Japan in their second game in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Monday with a double from Sukhjeet Singh. Sukhjeet claimed his two goals in the second and 60th minutes and made it quite clear that India was going to dominate most of the match. In the league stage, Abhishek (3rd minute), Sanjay (17th minute), and last but not least, Uttam Singh (54th minute) added more goals to the same and thus, the match was thoroughly dominated by India.
The only reply that Japan could offer came in the 41st minute when Matsumoto Kazumasa reduced the deficit by scoring for his team. Still having faced stiff resistance from the Indian forces, Japan couldn’t break the so-called Indian strong defensive walls and attacking qualities. Even though they got as many as five penalty corners to India’s two, Japan failed to make use of those chances.
This win ensured that India, the four times champion, remained steady in the tournament, having earlier beaten China 3-0 on Sunday in their round-robin league encounter. Harmanpreet Singh’s team has remained a force to reckon with as the players go through the group stages.
But the next task for the Indian team will be against Malaysia, which was the runner-up of the last edition on Wednesday, followed by a rest day on Tuesday. The match with the Malaysian team will be considered to be a turning point for the Indian team as they look forward to continuing their winning spree in the tournament.
In the round-robin league format, six teams participate in the Asian Champions Trophy. The first four teams at the end of the league will go to the playoffs and the semis, which are set for September 16. The last will be played on 17th September, when India will be eyeing a title defense and will be aiming for the fifth Asian Champions Trophy.
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