Defending champions India has suffered a crushing defeat in the Asia Cup hockey tournament. He was defeated by 17th ranked team Japan by a margin of 5-2. Now they have to register a big win over Indonesia to go to the next round. The team will play its next match on Thursday, 26 May from 5:00 PM.
The Indian team, playing under the captaincy of veteran Birender Lakra, made a defensive start in Jakarta on Tuesday. No goals were scored in the first quarter.
Ken Nagayoshi took the lead
In the 23rd minute of the second quarter, Ken Nagayoshi scored a penalty advantage to put Japan on a 1-0 lead. This was the only goal scored in this quarter. The third quarter of the match also remained in Japan’s name.
For him, Kawabe Kosai doubled the lead in the 39th minute with a field goal. Meanwhile, Team India made several comeback attempts. But the breakthrough came in the 44th minute. When Pawan Rajbhar scored a field goal.
The card dashed the hopes of a comeback
The last quarter of the match was entirely in Japan’s name. Oka Roma scored a field goal in the 48th minute to make the score 3-1. The very next minute, Uttam Singh scored a spectacular goal to make the score 3-2 and raised hopes of a comeback. But, Pawan Rajbhar got the green in the 51st minute and Selvam got the yellow card in the 53rd minute.
Koji Yamasaki scored in the 53rd minute immediately after the card. Then in the 55th minute, Kawabe Kosai scored his second and the team’s fifth goal. After this goal, the shoulders of the Indians were off. However, efforts to return continued till the hooter was sounded. But, the scoreline did not change.
Hockey India has tried the youth
In this tournament, Hockey India has decided to test its bench strength. This is the reason that many stars of the bronze medalist team of the Tokyo Olympics are not part of the team playing the Asia Cup, but Hockey India did not lose the title in the pursuit of trying the youth.
Pakistan beat Indonesia 13-0
Earlier, Pakistan secured a 13-0 win over Indonesia. While Malaysia beat Korea 5-4. In another match, Bangladesh defeated Oman 2-1.