Sports Hockey: India will take revenge against Japan in the Super Four match of Asia Cup Hockey
Jakarta: Indian men’s hockey team, coming off a strong comeback to qualify for the next round, takes on Japan in the Asia Cup Super Four match on Saturday, looking to revenge for their group stage defeat. Paying off will be the basis of vengeance.
Despite facing a weak Indonesian team in the last group league match, Sardar Singh’s young team has been praised for scoring 16 goals in an hour. To advance to the Super Four, India needed to defeat Pakistan by a score of 15-0 or more, which they did. In Pool A, both India and Pakistan got four points, but India moved to the next round due to a greater goal difference. This group was won by Japan.
India’s performance in the first two matches, on the other hand, was not up to par. India decided to field young players in the competition to offer them experience after securing a spot as hosts for next year’s World Cup. The Indian team included 12 players who had never played in a senior international match before.
India played a 1-1 draw with Pakistan in the first match and then suffered a 2-5 loss against Japan, putting them in danger of being eliminated from the group stage itself. India, however, came back strongly to register a big win against Indonesia to advance to the next round. The team also got help from Japan who beat Pakistan 3-2 in their final group match. The Indian team would now like to do better in the Super Four stage where Japan, apart from South Korea and Malaysia, have made it.
All of these teams will play each other once, with the top two teams competing in the final. India now wants to revenge its setback to Japan in the group round. The team’s journey ahead, though, will not be easy. Japan’s team is skilled at counterattacking, as evidenced by their performance against India in the group stage. Because India lacks a dragflicker like Rupinderpal Singh and Amit Rohidas, the team’s failure to score more goals from the penalty corner remains a source of concern. India failed to convert even half of the more than 20 penalty corners they were given, although playing against a weak Indonesian team.
India’s defense will have to do its best to stop the pace-dependent Japanese players. The midfield also needs to create more chances to score. Dipsan Tirkey, who scored five goals against Indonesia, has done better on the penalty corners but overall it is India’s weak side as the team could only manage nine goals from 22 penalty corners in the previous match. Young Uttam Singh needs to finish better. Pawan Rajbhar has been a star for India.
Due to his speed, he not only created chances but also scored goals. Experienced SV Sunil scored two goals in the last match but it seems age is taking a toll on him and his pace has slowed down. However, if India has to beat Japan, then the two teams will have to play with more discipline than in the first match. South Korea will take on Malaysia in another match of the Super Four stage.
