India looked like a pale shadow of their best self, failing to get past a Japanese team they had beaten 8-0 not long ago in the Men’s Hockey World Cup in Rourkela. They were forced to a 1-1 draw in their second match of the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) 2023, having beaten China 7-2 in the first match.
Poor Penalty Corner conversion rate
The Indian team could convert only one of the 15 penalty corners (pc) (combining the penalty corner earned after a foul while taking a penalty corner) that they earned in the game. The only conversion came through captain Harmanpreet Singh in the 43rd minute after Japan had gotten the lead in the 28th minute through Ken Nagayoshi, who had converted Japan’s second penalty corner. Incidentally, the Japanese got only two penalty corners in the entire match, out of which none came in the last two quarters.
Forwards failed to finish the ball past the 23-meter line
India had several chances to take the lead including the one in the 57th minute, but Sukhjeet Singh and Nilakanta Sharma, who had forced the ball into the Japanese circle, could not get a goal for the team.
In the 35th minute, Jarmanpreet Singh sent a rocket into the Japanese 5-metre circle, but there was no one to convert the ball into the goal. It eventually got into the Japanese post but without any Indian touch. Minutes earlier, Akashdeep had unleashed a tomahawk, but only to find the Japanese wall in the form of goalkeeper Takashi Yoshikawa.
Earlier Vivek Sagar Prasad got a green card in the 8th minute, making it a bad start for the home team. Local boy Karthi Selvam also missed a goal with a tomahawk.
Hockey Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) Points Table
Men’s Hockey ACT: What happened in other matches today?
At the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai, the action of the Men’s ACT started with Pakistan taking on defending champions Korea. It was a stunning result for Asian hockey giants of the 90s and 2000s as they held the defending champs to a 1-1 draw after leading for 53 minutes. Korea could only come back through a penalty stroke.
In the second game, Malaysia, after conceding in the fourth minute, came back strong to beat China 5-1. Courtesy of this win and India’s eventual draw, the Jalil Marhan-led team sits atop the points table
What’s in store tomorrow at the Hockey Men’s ACT 2023?
On the third day of the tournament, the league-stage matches will continue. While China will take on Korea in the 04:00 pm IST start, Pakistan will look to continue its impressive showing when they face Japan in their third match which will start at 06:15 pm IST.
In the last match of the day, India would aim to remove Malaysia from the top of the points table by winning the tie that would start at 08:30 pm IST.