DHAKA: Japan beat India by 5-3 after a scintillating semi-final contest of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy here on Tuesday.
In the second final of the tournament, India faced a crushing defeat by Japan, who defeated the side; scoring five goals in response to India’s three.
Japan launched an attack on India, from the very start; scoring the first goal of the match in the opening minute. Shota Yamada was the striker. Furthermore, in the second minute, Japan extended their lead; with Raiki Fujishama scoring the second goal of the match.
In the 17th minute, however, Indian player, Dilpreet Singh showed fightback; scoring the first goal for his side. But, Japan extended their lead to 3-1 in the 29th minute with another brilliant strike. At half-time, Japan was leading by 3-1 against the defending champions.
In the second half of the game, India looked to make a comeback; scoring two goals, but, Japan, too, scored as many goals in the remaining half of the game, thus, winning the game by 5-2 in the allotted time.
Japan will now face South Korea in the event’s final, whereas, the joint defending champions, India and Pakistan will square off again in the third-place playoff tomorrow at 2:30 PM (PKT). The final of the event will commence at 5:00 PM (PKT).
READ: South Korea beat Pakistan in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy