Asian Champions Trophy hockey 2023: Japan on redemption road Premium

Japan seeks to put its disappointing World Cup campaign behind, led by key players Ken Nagayoshi and Kentaro Fukuda and coach Akira Takahashi.

Front runner: Ken Nagayoshi, the penalty corner specialist is one of the key players to watch out for in the Japanese team. Despite finding the back of the net only once in the 2023 World Cup, his performances in the Nations Cup, where he scored four goals, portray why he is a significant goal threat.  | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Japan will begin its campaign at the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy against South Korea on August 3, in a rematch of the previous edition’s final. South Korea had beaten Samurai Japan 4-2 in a shootout at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium in Dhaka after the match finished 3-3 at the end of normal time.

Raiki Fujishima and Kosei Kawabe missed penalties for Japan in the shootout, forcing it to settle for second place, its best performance at the event, equalling the runner-up finish it achieved in 2013.

Japan comes into the tournament on the back of a disappointing 2023 World Cup held in Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela in January. Drawn in a group with Belgium, Germany and South Korea — all higher-ranked opponents, Japan finished last in Pool B.

The 8-0 hammering by India in the 9th-16th place playoff round followed, accompanied by another loss to Malaysia. The team eventually finished 15th, level with Chile, unable to conjure up a single point during the event.

It scored only four goals in six matches while conceding 23, tallying the second-worst goal difference, with only Chile performing worse.

The disappointing campaign dropped Japan from 16th place in the FIH World rankings to 19th. It enters the Asian Champions Trophy as the second-lowest-ranked team, only above China.

Asian Champions Trophy record:

Titles: 0

Matches: 37

Won: 10

Drawn: 5

Lost: 22

Goals: 78

Before the World Cup, the team participated in the inaugural FIH Hockey Nations Cup, a qualifying tournament for the 2023/24 Men’s FIH Pro League. The event was held in November and December 2022, with Japan finishing sixth among the eight participating nations.

Despite a solid start to the tournament, with a 3-0 win over Canada, Japan faltered in the next two group games against South Korea and Malaysia, finishing in third place in the group.

A win against Pakistan guaranteed Japan a spot in the fifth and sixth place playoff, where it lost on penalties to France.

Ken Nagayoshi, the penalty corner specialist is one of the key players to watch out for in the Japanese team. Despite finding the back of the net only once in the 2023 World Cup, his performances in the Nations Cup, where he scored four goals, portray why he is a significant goal threat.

Kentaro Fukuda is another goal threat for the Japanese, scoring a goal in the 2023 World Cup and twice in the Nations Cup.

He has scored 15 goals in 69 caps for the national team.

Head Coach Akira Takahashi will hope the team can bounce back from the disappointment of the World Cup. With a small core of players from the 2018 Asian Games gold-winning team still playing, Japan will be hoping to rely on their experience to ensure a better outing in a multi-nation tournament this time round.