The former multi-time champions India have defeated Japan by 5-0 in the semi-final of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023, at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, Chennai. On August 11, the Men in Blue had a perfect day on the hockey field during the knockout round, dominating the run of play against a tricky Japanese team from start to finish in front of their home fans.
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Notably, the first quarter of the semi-final was goalless with India trying to push Japan's defence on the backfoot, but they stood firm in the face of constant attack from the opposition forwards. But, the second quarter was a completely different story for the Indian attackers, with Akashdeep Singh putting the hosts in the lead in the 19th minute with a superb strike, after the deflected save from the goalkeeper.
Then, in the 23rd minute, Harmanpreet Singh, the captain of India’s hockey team, converted the penalty corner once more in the Asian Champions Trophy. He dissected the rushers and hit the goal board past the Japanese goalie, to make the score 2-0 in the favour of the hosts.
The wave of constant attacks from the Indian forwards was too much in the later stages of the second quarter, for the backline of Japan. They conceded the third goal to Mandeep Singh, who deflected a slap shot from Manpreet Singh, right under the eyes of the goalkeeper in the 30th minute.
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During the second half, Sumit scored a field goal for India in the 39th minute against Japan, giving the second assist of the day to Manpreet Singh. The fifth and final goal of the contest came in the 51st minute for the hosts, when the local boy Karthi Selvam scored, thanks to a clinical pass from Sukhjeet Singh.
India will be playing Malaysia in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 on August 12. In the earlier semi-final, Malaysia were able to beat the defending champions South Korea by 6-2 to book their place in the summit clash tomorrow night against the hosts.
