By Prabhjot Singh
Defending champions India overcame a 0-1 deficit to defeat spirited Japan 3-1 for its second successive win in the AHF Junior Men’s Asia Cup Hockey Tournament at Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex for Sports and Entertainment in Salalah, Oman, on Thursday, May 25. With this win, India shares top spot with Pakistan with two wins each.
On May 24, Pakistan had beaten Thailand 9-0 for its second straight win. The main architect of its second big win was Abdul Rehman, who scored five of nine goals for his team. Pakistan had beaten Chinese Taipei 15-1 in its opening game.
India was cautious as it took to the field against Japan for its second game after a flattering 18-0 win over Chinese Taipei yesterday. The Japanese, who were playing to a strategy, with man to man marking, drew the first blood when Kumpei Yasuda scored a brilliant solo after dodging past the entire Indian defense. His goal in the 19th minute was a stunner for India that immediately went into attack.
After trailing 0-1 at half time, India came back strongly in the third quarter, scoring twice. It was Araijit Singh Hundal, hero of yesterday’s big win, who restored parity with his specialist reverse flick from the top of the striking circle in the 36th minute. Three minutes later Sharad Nand Tiwari made it 2-1 with a penalty corner conversion. Skipper Uttam Singh finally made it safe with his 56th minute goal to make India a strong contender for a semi-final berth from the pool.