Indians find their mojo

Rajgir: A little less of the key ingredients in the overall performance had India escape with a narrow win against China in their Asia Cup opener. On Sunday, however, the hosts put together the right components to score a 3-2 win over Japan at the Bihar Sports University Hockey Stadium here.

Though the scoreline displays a goal difference of just one, similar to that of the first match 4-3, the Harmanpreet Singh-led India commanded the proceedings throughout the 60-minute contest. The lack of finishing touches despite multiple opportunities robbed India of adding more goals. 

It was forward Mandeep Singh (4th) who first struck for India through a field goal before flick expert and captain Harmanpreet (5th, 45th) converted two penalty corners out of the total six the team earned. For the visitors, attacker Kosei Kawabe (38th, 59th) scored both the goals. The win sealed India’s place in the Super4s. 

The days in the quaint Bihar town have been experiencing temperatures in the 30s accompanied by humidity wavering in the 70% range. Coach Craig Fulton had hoped for the weather gods to be generous and his wish was granted with clouds covering the skies for the entirety of the match which kicked off at 3 pm. The Japanese, though, found the heat turned up by their Indian counterparts too hot to handle. 

India pressed hard right from the opening hooter to keep the chock-a-block crowd, especially behind the Japanese goal post, on their feet. Following a few missed targets, a running ball by Sumit passed from the left flank to Sukhjeet Singh was then fed to Mandeep who slotted in the opening goal in the fourth minute. 

Moments later, the skipper converted in the fourth attempt of four back-to-back penalty corners to put India ahead by 2-0. 

On the other end, Indian goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak was, for most parts of the first quarter, left deserted. But when challenged on rare occasions, the 28-year-old - playing his 150th game for the country - made as many as three saves in the first 15 minutes. 

It was Pathak’s fellow 28-year-old keeper colleague Suraj Kakera’s turn to be the bystander while guarding the post in the second quarter. Both sides unable to hold on to possession or challenge deep ends had the scoreboard stagnant at 2-0 at halftime. 

The third quarter appeared to be turning into Indian team's Achilles heel. The 26-year-old Kawabe, who had netted a brace against Kazakhstan in Japan’s 7-0 win, took the responsibility of pumping life into his withering team and shortened the deficit to one. The spring in Japan's step didn't last long as Harmanpreet decided to dampen their gusto with his flick finding the back of the net in the dying seconds of the third. 

The fourth looked more of a formality for the Indian players on the field allowing the spectators to focus more on their singing and dancing skills for a mix of Bhojpuri and Hindi chartbusters. Even Kawabe’s second strike to threaten India in the final moments failed to stop that party. 

India next take on Kazakhstan, who were defeated 1-13 by China on Sunday, in their final Pool A game on Monday. 

Results: Pool A: India: 3 (Mandeep Singh 4th, Harmanpreet Singh 5th, 45th) bt Japan: 2 (Kosei Kawabe 38th, 59th); China: 13 (Shihao Du 10th, 53rd, Qijun Chen 13th, Changliang Lin 15th, 39th, Benhai Chen 29th, 56th, Yuanlin Lu 31st, 42nd, 44th, Jiesheng Gao 33rd, Xiaolong Guo 41st, 58th) bt Kazakhstan: 1 (Agymtay Duisengazy 2nd).