Asian Champions Trophy:India loses to Japan in semi-final

Defending champions India suffered a 3-5 defeat against Japan in the semi-final of the Asian Champions Trophy men’s hockey tournament at Dhaka on Tuesda. Japan started off with a flurry of attacks and penalty corners before gaining a two-goal cushion. The Indians fought back with a goal at the start of the second quarter but a penalty stroke towards the end helped Japan to maintain the two-goal lead.
Later, a lapse in defence of the Indian side led to the fourth goal before Japan made it 5-1 towards the end of the third quarter. The intense fourth quarter was marked by Harmanpreet Singh, who scored one to reduce the deficit. A Penalty corner rebound helped India to net one more goal but their unbeaten run ended with the loss versus Japan. After the defeat, India will face Pakistan for the bronze medal play-off and Japan will face South Korea in the final.

Japan scored through Shota Yamada (1st minute, penalty), Raiki Fujishima (2nd minute), Yoshiki Kirishita (14th), Kosei Kawabe (35th) and Ryoma Ooka (41st).India and Japan had met 18 times before with the hosts winning 16 games, while Japan emerged victorious on one occasion and one ended in a draw. The tournament ended in an anti-climax for India as after having topped the round robin stages with an unbeaten record.In the other semifinal of the day, South Korea beat Pakistan 6-5 in a thrilling contest.