What a time to pull off a historic win! Japan shocked high-flying India 5-3 in the second semi-final of the Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka on Tuesday and registered their first-ever win over India in a major tournament. The Asian Games champions now set sights on adding to that title when they play South Korea who beat joint-holders Pakistan 6-5 in Wednesday’s final at the Maulana Bhashani stadium.
Japan were 2-0 up in two minutes and by the fifth minute had forced six penalty corners.
India reduced the margin in the second quarter but Japan regained their two-goal cushion by halftime to lead 3-1 after Yoshiki Kirishita converted another penalty stroke.
It soon was 5-1 in the third quarter, a scoreline that may have had even Japanese supporters who turned up in large numbers rubbing eyes in disbelief. India did well to force the pace and score two more goals in the final quarter but it was a little too late for a monumental comeback.
Japan scored through Shota Yamada (PS, 1’), Raiki Fujishima (2’, PC), Yoshiki Kirishita (PS, 29’), Kosei Kawabe (35’) and Ryoma Ooka (41’).
India’s scorers were Dilpreet (17’), Harmanpreet Singh (53’, PC) and Hardik Singh (59’, PC).
Salute Japan for playing to a plan. Give them credit for recovering from Sunday’s 0-6 mauling at the hands of India, the bronze medallists at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
India coach Graham Reid attempted to quell complacency in the ranks in a pre-match media conference. The Australian also drew focus that Japan had the numbers to suggest that it should have been far closer. Perhaps Japanese coach Akira Takahashi was given sight of the script. His team came charging off the blocks, forced a penalty corner and an ensuing penalty stroke from which Yamada scored with just 58 seconds gone.
By the second minute it was 2-0 when Fujishima converted a PC. By the fifth minute, Japan had forced six penalty corners and were all over India who seemed sleepy at the back.
Japan by contrast were sprightly, pacy, combative and enterprising. At the centre of it all was the iconic Kenta Tanaka, ever the menace on the left flank, supported ably by his namesake Seren who walked off with the man-of-the-match award.
And there was Niwa Takuma, hardworking and effervescent on the right flank right through the tournament.
The Asian Games champions delighted with counter-attacks as is their wont and India simply had no answer to the pressure exerted by Japan and were rendered leaden-footed as scoreboard pressure mounted.
Japan’s defence too played up superbly and India were restricted to just a single penalty corner till the fourth quarter. India had the edge on possession (54%) and circle entries (23-19), penalty corners (2/5 vs 1/6) but Japan won the shots count 9-6 and of course the most important statistic of goals scored — exactly reversing the scoreline when the teams clashed in a pool game at the Olympics a shade over four months ago.
India, who shared the 2018 title with Pakistan after a washout in Muscat, Oman, must now pick themselves up for a rematch of the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games bronze medal match.
South Korea and Japan, on their part, have ensured that a new champion will inscribe its name on the trophy after India and Pakistan have registered three titles each since inception in 2011.