Asian Champions Trophy 2026: Late flurry helps India overcome stubborn Japan

FILE PHOTO: India's Abhishek (C) scored the opener before adding a second goal to his tally in the 51st minute. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Three goals in the final 15 minutes ensured India maintained its unbeaten position at the top of the table but the 4-1 victory against Japan on Friday was not the cakewalk the scoreline suggests.

The defending Asian Champions Trophy champion was stretched and tested to the limit by a team ranked eight places below it in the world rankings. It was a display of defensive discipline and positive play from the Japanese who never backed off despite India’s best efforts.

The domination seen from the host in the previous two outings was nowhere to be seen, neither in the numbers nor on the field, for the first 45 minutes. Japan’s resilience made the match exciting and was the first real test for India, which appeared in a hurry for large periods, contrasting against the patience of Japan.

A perfectly-positioned Abhishek in front the goal slammed in Sukhjeet Singh’s pass from the backline to put India ahead in the 11th minute, only for Shota Yamada to level four minute later through a Penalty Stroke that Suraj Karkera had no answer to. It came off Japan’s fourth Penalty Corner after a goalbound shot bounced off Sanjay’s shoulder. The score remained that way for the next half hour before India upped the ante, increasing the pace and going all out on the attack.

“The talk at half-time was just to go all out on the press, keep pushing Japan back and attack,” both coach Craig Fulton and Abhishek admitted. The urgency wasn’t surprising after Japan’s dominance in the first half, where it had four PCs to India’s none, six circle entries to four.

Japan’s plan was simple – stick to the basics, draw the Indians in and then push through the gaps with long passes to cut turnover chances and not concede PCs. India had just one short corner in the entire match and two cancelled after review. Harmanpreet finally called for duty in the 47th minute to break the deadlock and open the gates for India. It was the wake up call that India needed, though.

Korea, meanwhile, struck twice in as many minutes soon after resumption to overturn China’s one-goal lead, then held on to it to register its first win of the tournament. Malaysia thrashed Bangladesh 6-1 to remain the other unbeaten side in the competition.

RESULTS

India 4 (Abhishek 11, 51, Harmanpreet 47pc, Vishnukant Singh 56) bt Japan 1 (Shota Yamada 15ps); Malaysia 6 (Abu Kamal Azrai 14, 22pc, Akhimullah Anuar 29pc, Azimuddin Kamaruddin 32pc, Shello Silverius 33, Aiman Rozemi 50pc) bt Bangladesh 1 (Amirul Islam 26pc); Korea 2 (Kim Yong Bok 35, Kim Jae Ho 36) bt China 1 (Chen Chongcong 8ps).