The Indian men's hockey team maintained their winning momentum with a superb 5-1 win over Japan in their Asian Champions Trophy match at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China on Monday.
Craig Fulton's side were off to a great start with Sukhjeet Singh scoring in the opening minute. He made the right run and tucked the ball in after it took a deflection off a Japanese stick inside the circle.
Seconds later, Abhishek doubled the lead. He collected the ball inside the circle, controlled it despite coming under pressure from Japanese players and slotted past the goalkeeper from a close range.
India dominated the proceedings in the first two quarters, creating multiple chances while Japan struggled to contain them.
India's third came from a penalty corner opportunity. It was Sanjay who came up with the dragflick to beat the goalkeeper and the defender on the line. The ball hit the defender and rolled into the goal.
Japan needed to make big improvements post the break and they did have a better outing in the third quarter. They showed more intensity on the ball and attacked India from all three sides. The goal eventually came from Kazumasa Matsumoto who made the run inside the box with the ball. The shot took a deflection and goalkeeper Krishan Pathak was wrongfooted as Japan pulled one back.
India had to be careful going into the final quarter despite having a two-goal lead. Japan had the momentum with them. They pushed hard but India's defence didn't break down and then in the 54th minute, Uttam Singh scored the team's fourth of the evening. Md. Raheel played a brilliant ball to find Jarmanpreet Singh in space on the right. The defender then passed it to Uttam who made no mistake from a close range.
With seconds to go in the final quarter, Sukhjeet scored his second of the match. Rajkumar Pal snatched the ball just outside the circle and passed it to Sukhjeet whose shot was not the best but good enough to beat the goalkeeper.
With two wins out of two, India go top of the table.
You can relive the match on our blog right below: