Ryosuke shinohara

Hockey Asia Cup: The Indian men’s team continued their winning form in the Asia Cup with a 3-2 victory against Japan in their second Pool A fixture at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium in Bihar on Sunday. With this win, India have secured a spot in the Super 4s stage as they progress ahead in the tournament.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh (5’, 46’) and Mandeep Singh (4') scored goals for India while Kosei Kawabe (38',59') scored a brace for Japan. 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. In the very next minute, India won their first Penalty Corner of the day and after two retakes, captain Harmanpreet Singh (5') fired a powerful shot that struck the Japanese goalkeeper's foot and went into the goal to increase the home side's lead. Japan too won a Penalty Corner in the 13th minute, however, it didn't amount to anything.