Asian Champions Trophy | India smash 10 past Japan in their opening game
India destroyed a hapless Japan in their opening match of the Asian Champions Trophy scoring 10 past them with seven goals coming in the first half. Rupinder Singh scored 6 penalty corners to lead the scoring charts while Japan scored two second-half goals through Tanaka to restore some pride.
1st Quarter
India got off to a flyer within a couple of minutes. Ramandeep received the ball in the penalty box before smashing the ball into the far corner of the goal.
India's next chance fell for Affan Yousuf, who found himself one-on-one with the keeper but his shot-cum-lob was well saved by Masahito to keep the score at 1-0.
However, it didn’t take India long to double their lead as Rupinder Pal Singh placed the ball into the goal off a penalty corner with just seven minutes played. The Japanese players tried to close Rupinder down but the penalty expert calmly hit the back of the net as India gained a comfortable lead.
Rupinder was at it again with another goal with the very next penalty corner as he doubled his tally and gave India a commanding 3-0 lead in the first quarter.
As Japan struggled to make an impact in the game, Ramandeep piled on the pressure with a beautifully placed goal off a snap shot from the top of the box to make it 4-0.
2nd Quarter
In the very first minute of the second quarter, Rupinder completed his hat-trick from yet another penalty corner before Talwinder Singh made it six after some quick stick work by Ramandeep.
When India
After that barrage of goals from India, Japan finally managed to put one through. Chinglensana, who had very little to do all game, suffered a loss of concentration as he was robbed of the ball by Sakamoto. The Japanese captain placed the ball for Tanaka, who had to slide in to put Japan on the scoreboard. At the half-way stage India found themselves with a formidable lead of seven goals to one, which could have been more as India had 23 shots in the first half.
3rd Quarter
Japan started the second half better as they tightened up their defence and started moving the ball better.
The first chance of the third quarter came off yet another penalty corner. However, it was Japan who tested
In the very next move, however, after a bit of pinball in front of the Indian goal, Surinder Kumar's inability to clear the ball resulted in Tanaka getting his second of the game with a simple tap-in a few inches from the goal line.
India had chances of their own through penalty corners, but Rupinder was unable to repeat his first-half heroics missing three penalty corners in a row.
4th Quarter
Even though the Indians had a lead of 7-2 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Indian coach Roelant Oltmans was caught on camera telling his team that they were not "sharp enough" and they had to be better.
The team responded
The 25-year-old was at it again a couple of minutes later has he took his personal tally from the game to 6 with the scoreboard reading 9-2.
Affan, who missed an easy chance in the first half, scored the goal taking India's score into double digits.
After the goal, India took their foot off the gas and saw out the game at 10-2. While this proved to be an easy game, the real test arrives in a couple of games when they play neighbors Pakistan, which is expected to be a heated affair.