Indian men’s hockey team registered a 1-1 draw against Japan in its second match of the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy 2023 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai on Friday. With the draw against Japan, India dropped down to the second spot in the Asian Champions Trophy standings with four points from two matches.
Harmanpreet Singh (43′) scored a penalty corner for India, while Ken Nagayoshi (28′) scored for Japan. India launched an early onslaught, while Japan, ranked 19th in the world, sought to keep possession.
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India made quick rushes into Japan’s half in pursuit of the opening goal, but the Japanese defence held firm to deny the hosts any chance. In the first quarter, India was awarded eight penalty corners, but Harmanpreet Singh and his teammates failed to profit from the opportunities.
India created numerous chances to break the deadlock in the second quarter, but the attackers lacked the elegance to turn these into a lead. Japan, on the other hand, scored the first goal against the run of play. Two minutes before the end of the second quarter, Ken Nagayoshi drag-flicked the ball into the Indian net from a penalty corner to give Japan a 1-0 lead. Japan led by one goal at the end of the first half.
India, behind by one goal, overloaded the Japan half and eventually scored. From the penalty corner, the Indian hockey team equalised. Harmanpreet Singh continued his great scoring trend by stepping up to tie the game at one. The tense third quarter ended with the scores equal.
Japan used a more defensive stance in the last quarter, while India attacked in waves in pursuit of a winner. The score, however, stayed constant until the last buzzer.
India will next play Malaysia, who currently tops the table with two wins, next on Sunday.
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