Welcome to the highlights of the Asian Champions Trophy semifinal 2 between India and Japan. This was Santadeep Dey , bringing you all the action as it unfolded at the Maulana Bhasani Stadium in Dhaka.
HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT THEY SAID
Manpreet Singh, India captain: "I can't describe (how I am feeling). It was a lazy start. This is not the result we expected. Big lesson for us. We cannot underestimate any team. Big match tomorrow."
Japan skipper and Player of the Match, Seren Tanaka : "Didn't believe we could beat India. Last time, we had a great chance but today we capitalised on our opprtunities. Hope we head back to Japan as champion."
FULL TIME: The hooter goes off! A major upset sees Japan seal a final spot opposite South Korea. India moves into a third place playoff meet with arch rival Pakistan at 2:30 PM IST tomorrow.
2' Penalty corner for India. Hardik, India's designated injector, feeds Rajkumar, who pushes the ball back in. Hardik scores! 3-5 with a minute to go.
3' Hardik attacks the baseline. With only a nudge required to make it 3-5, Lalit makes a mess of the move and tumbles.
4' Lalit wins India a penalty corner. Can Harmanpreet do it again? Japan has asked for a referral. Seems like the hault hasn't been clean prior to Varun's drag flick. Japan loses the review.
6' Ooka has been suspended for two minutes.
7'Ken Nagayoshi concedes a penalty corner, with Harmanpreet, India's top-scorer in the tournament, on the pitch this time. Lalit is the injector. Manpreet haults and Harmanpreet finds the back of the net with a clinical drag flick. Three goals in seven minutes for a shoot-off. Can India do it? The crowd seems to have found its voice again.
11' Rajkumar has a shy on goal but it goes wide. It has been a day to forget for the Indian men.
11' Lakra finds the ball on the baseline. A recycled attack sees India trying to work past scores of red shirts. Ochiai comes down after he clatters against Lakra. A timeout has been called for.
12' With the clock running down, India will look to deploy a high press without further delay.
FOURTH QUARTER
India only has 15 minutes to climb the proverbial mountain now. Japan quite en route to pull of an upset for the ages.
2' Lalit takes a full-blooded hit on goal but Yoshikawa shows what he is made of as he comes up with a breathtaking save. Ooka breaks into a run on the counter-attack, drawing Karkera off his line to ward off the impending danger.
5' GOAL! Japan in the hotseat. Tanaka threads a strategic pass to Ooka at the far post, who makes no mistake. The Olympics bronze medallist has been stunned and how!
7' Japan continues to ask tough questions with successive circle entries.
11' Bad news piling up for the Indian team! Manpreet and Co. concede another as an alert Kosei Kawabe gets on the scoresheet. To make matters worse, India loses its only referral.
13' Tanaka brings down a high ball and shoots! However, Karkera makes a crucial save before Varun clears.
14' Shamsher turns about to create some space for himself on the right. Shoots across goal but neither Hardik nor Lakra could pick that up as another chance goes abegging.
15' Murata feeds Tanaka as Jarmanpreet gives away possession in a rookie error. However, Japan fails to make good use of the opportunity.
THIRD QUARTER
"Our guys need to wake up. Japan are getting the ball first," says India coach Graham Reid.
HALF-TIME: Well then, India, two goals down, has a tough task at hand. Japan looks nothing like what it had seemed a few days ago.
3' It's all happening out there! Dipsan takes way too much time to bring down a lobbed pass from Manpreet. Tanaka scurries to make a crucial interception following which he darts off from the right. A penalty stroke has been awarded as Tanaka hits the deck in front of goal. Kirishita sends Pathak the wrong way and Japan extends the lead, only minutes away from the end of the first half.
6' Hardik powers in a cross from the left but Lakra fails to get a touch on it. Yoshikawa would have had a heart-in-mouth moment there.
7' Krishan denies Japan with a well-timed dive to his left. Harmanpreet takes a referral after Japan is awarded a penalty corner. The decision is overturned and India keeps the review.
10' Yamada and Tanaka combine to create an opportunity down the right flank. However, the ball flies wide of the far post.
12' India gets its first penalty corner as Manabu Yamashita finds his teammate while looking for a clearance. Xess hits it straight to 'keeper Yoshikawa.
14' Dilpreet scores! Lakra initiates a counter-attack after Japan misses an opportunity to extend its lead from the left. Manpreet and Hardik play a vital role amid a goal-mouth melee to feed the ball to Dilpreet.
SECOND QUARTER
Japan has come racing out of the blocks. At the end of the first quarter, it is India 0 Japan 2.
3' Japan gets a free hit as Yuki Chiba gets tackled by Harmanpreet. First sign of an attack from the Indian side but an alert Japanese defence knew better.
5' India is yet to have an attempt on goal after the first 10 minutes of the first quarter. Speaks volumes about how Japan's performance has been tonight, thus far.
9' Japan is trying to keep the ball off its defensive third as India continues to press hard.
11' India looking to frustrate Japan with some crucial runs down the right. My, oh, my... Another defensive error sees Japan pick another penalty corner. Kirishita swings wide of the second post.
12' What an evening this is turning out to be! Japan earns its fifth penalty corner in just over a minute-and-half. Raiki Fujishima scores with a clean strike to the right of Karkera.
14' GOAAAL. Japan takes an early lead as Shota Yamada converts a penalty stroke. Drills past Karkera into the bottom right corner. IND 0-1 JPN
15' Back-to-back penalty corners for Japan in the very first minute! End-to-end action after a timely interception from the Japanese defence.
FIRST QUARTER
- 5:35 PM IST: The teams make their way onto the pitch. Time for the national anthems - India up first. Japan wins toss.
- Akira Takahashi, Japan's head coach says, "We lost our last match against India 0-6, but we have analysed the game and not lost our confidence. We have tried everything. We will do our best."
- South Korea has just outrun Pakistan in a riveting clash. It will meet the winner of this game in the final.
LINEUPS
INDIA XI: Suraj Karkera (GK), Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh (c), Sumit, Shamsher Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gursahibjit Singh
MATCH PREVIEW
Back to its best after a slow start, defending champion and Olympic bronze-medallist India would start as overwhelming favourite against Asian Games gold winner Japan in the semifinal of the Asian Champions Trophy men's hockey tournament today.
The Manpreet Singh-led side's confidence must be sky high as it had thrashed Japan 6-0 in the last round-robin match and come Tuesday, India would definitely fancy another big win en route to the title clash.
Having said that, India will need to guard against complacency as any slip-up could spoil all its hardwork.
India ended the round-robin stage of the five-nation tournament at the top of the standings with 10 points, ahead of Korea (6), Japan (5), Pakistan (5) and host Bangladesh (0).
But the start was far from ideal for India. Playing its first tournament after the historic Tokyo Olympics campaign, the Indians were held 2-2 by South Korea in its lung-opener before turning things around with a resounding 9-0 win over Bangladesh, followed by a 3-1 victory over arch-rival Pakistan and the thrashing of Japan.
Vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh has been a revelation not just at the back but from penalty corners as well, converting two against Japan on Sunday. And, he definitely will pose a big threat for the Japanese. The Indian midfield is also being held together brilliantly by skipper Manpreet and Hardik Singh.
The forwardline of Dilpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Shamsher Singh too has shone bright in the tournament so far, scoring some fine field goals.
The Indians completely outperformed Japan in all departments of the game in their league match and they would eye an encore in the semifinal as well.
The Japanese will have to lift their game by leaps and bounds and play out of their skin to give themselves any chance of registering an upset win.
Young Suraj Karkera has been brilliant under the bar for India, making some brilliant saves throughout the tournament while the Harmanpreet-led Indian backline too defended stoutly, saving as many as five penalty corners against Japan on Sunday.
However, the Indian defence will need to be a little more cautious on Tuesday and concentrate on not conceding too many penalty corners, which could hurt them as past results hardly matters in knock-out stage matches.
A slight slip-up or lapse in concentration can derail their campaign and spoil their second successive ACT title. India had won the title jointly with Pakistan in the last edition in Muscat.
Meanwhile, South Korea defeated Pakistan (4-3) in the first semifinal on Tuesday.
INDIA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Suraj Karkera.
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Mandeep Mor.
Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Sumit, Rajkumar Pal, Akashdeep Singh, Shamsher Singh.
Forwards: Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra.
WHERE TO WATCH INDIA VS JAPAN, ASIAN CHAMPIONS TROPHY LIVE?
Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD are the official broadcasters.
WHERE TO LIVE STREAMINDIA VS JAPAN, ASIAN CHAMPIONS TROPHY?
The match can be viewed online on Disney+ Hotstar .
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