Jakarta: India was defeated 5-2 by Japan in the Asia Cup 2022 in their second pool match in Jakarta on Tuesday after starting off their campaign with a draw against arch-rivals Pakistan.
From the first quarter, which finished in a 0-0 tie, the Japanese maintained dominance. Ken Nagayoshi subsequently converted the penalty corner in the 23rd minute to give his team a one-goal lead going into halftime. In the 39th minute, Kosei Kawabe helped Japan expand their advantage to 2-0, before Rajbhar Pawan helped India rally in the last minutes of the third quarter.
Inexperienced India was not defending well and Japan capitalised on their mistakes and made up for their early missed chances. Japan scored three more goals in the fourth quarter, while India only managed one. And ended the match with 5-2.
Full Time! India put in a valiant effort but was defeated by Japan by three goals in today's Hero Asia Cup in Jakarta, hoping for a better game in the upcoming matches.
🇮🇳 2-5 🇯🇵#IndiaKaGame #HockeyIndia #HeroAsiaCup #MatchDay @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/sMkdGjBaan
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) May 24, 2022
“First two quarters were very tough because we didn’t get into any rhythm. We got better in the last two quarters but didn’t create many chances,” said Birendra Lakra, the India captain.
Earlier Men in Blue played out a 1-1 draw against arch-rivals Pakistan on Monday.
With this result, India has moved up to third place in Pool A, while Japan has taken the lead. The outcome of India’s tournament will be determined by the match between Japan and Pakistan, which will be played on Thursday. India will meet Indonesia in their next match, which will take place on the same day as the first.
