A gritty Japan handed over to the defending champions India His first defeat in the Hero Asia Cup on Tuesday.
With Japan thrashing India 5-2 in Pool A, India will now have to beat hosts Indonesia by a huge margin and hope for a favorable result in Thursday’s Pakistan-Japan game to make it to the Super 4.
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Goals from Kosei Kawabe (40th, 56th), Ken Nagayoshi (24th), Ryoma Oka (49th) and Koji Yamasaki (54th) ensured Japan their second win of the tournament, while India’s Pawan Rajbhar (45th) and Uttam Singh ( 45th) scored. 50th) from both field efforts.
India had earlier played out a 1-1 draw against arch-rivals Pakistan in their first pool match on Monday, while Japan began their campaign with a strong 9-0 win over hosts Indonesia.
On Tuesday, Japan was far better in terms of performance as they put pressure on the young Indian team from the start. They launched relentless attacks, put pressure on Indian defense and left little room for counter-attacks, which is India’s strength.
While both teams played a goalless first quarter, Japan awarded via a PC in the 24th minute after a breach in India’s defence. Even though it was an even game after the 10-minute half-time break, India gave Japan several chances. Kawabe’s goal in the 40th minute doubled their lead.
But India took the lead in the 45th minute with a goal from Rajbhar, though lost a goal through Oka in the 49th minute. Japan’s 3-1 lead was reduced to 2-3 when Uttam Singh scored a sharp field goal in the 50th minute to give hope to the Indian dugout.
But a defensive lapse triggered a flurry of goals by Yamazaki and Kawabe in the final few minutes to put Japan in a formidable position to win.
India will play its last pool match against Indonesia on Thursday.
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