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On Monday, September 9, Indian men’s hockey team produced a dominant performance against Japan, hammering them 5-1 in their second round-robin match of the Asian Champions Trophy 2024 at the Moqi Training Base in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia, China. There were four goalscorers from India in the match against against the Japanese with Sukhjeet Singh getting a brace, while the likes of Abhishek, Sanjay, and Uttam Singh finding their names on the scoresheet once.
In the first quarter, the Indian attacking lineup were on absolute tear right from the beginning, going 2-0 up inside two minutes with Sukhjeet Singh and Abhishek scoring the goals, to stun the Japanese. India kept their attacking intent going, but till the conclusion of the first quarter, Japan managed to keep them at bay.
Sukhjeet Singh scores two goals for India against Japan
The start of the second quarter of the Asian Champions Trophy 2024 saw India make it 3-0 in the 17th minute with a goal from Sanjay. But heading towards the half-time break, Men in Blue lost their focus somewhat, with Abhishek and Jugraj Singh receiving green cards, but Japanese attackers were unable to take advantage of an extra outfield player.
During the third quarter, Japan were quite disciplined in both attack and defence, which led to their first goal of the match in the 41st minute from Kazumasa Matsumoto, making their scoreline 1-3. But, in the final quarter, India ran away with the contest, with Uttam Singh scoring in the 54th minute while Sukhjeet Singh got his second of the afternoon in the 60th minute, to make it 5-1.
With this comprehensive win, India have consolidated their position on top of the Asian Champions Trophy 2024 standings, with six points in two matches. In the earlier match of the day, South Korea managed to get a 2-2 draw against Pakistan despite the latter scoring two goals in the 60th minute to take the lead.
