IANS.
Jakarta: A strong Japan slammed defending champions India to their first loss at the Asia Cup Hockey here on Tuesday for 5-2 in their Pool A match.
But the loss will cost India huge as they will have to win against host Indonesia by a big margin and have to expect a favourable result in the Pakistan Japan game to stay in the tournament.
For Japan, Kosei Kawabe (40th, 56th) scored twice, while Ken Nagayoshi (24th), Ryoma Ooka (49th) and Koji Yamasaki (54th) scored one each to make their second win in the tournament. For India, Pawan Rajbhar (45th) and Uttam Singh (50th) scored from field efforts.
On Tuesday, Japan was aggressive even from the start, pulling relentless attacks on India and leaving less room for counterattacks.
Japan scored in the 24th minute from a penalty corner, and Kawabe's goal doubled their lead in the 40th minute. India's young squad gave Japan too many chances, IANS reports.
Later in the 45th minute, India opened its account through Rajbhar, but in the 49th, Japan hiked their lead. In the 50th minute, India reduced the lead to 2-3 but allowed two more goals in the 54th and 56th minutes, letting Japan win the match.
When India started with a 1-1 draw against Pakistan in the tournament, Japan started with a 9-0 against Indonesia. India will play their last pool match on Thursday against Indonesia.