India vs Kazakhstan Highlights & Replay, Men's Hockey Asia Cup 2025: Hat-tricks from Abhishek, Sukhjeet, Jugraj power India to big win

Hello and welcome to Khel Now’s live blog for the India vs Kazakhstan Pool A match in Men’s Hockey Asia Cup 2025. Please wait for the blog to load!

The Indian men’s hockey team will face Kazakhstan in their final Pool A match in the Men’s Hockey Asia Cup 2025, having already confirmed their spot in the Supe 4 stage of the tournament.

India are currently top of Pool A ahead of the final group matchday in the Men’s Hockey Asia Cup 2025 and are assured of a place in the knockouts stage. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan have already been eliminated after defeats in their opening two Pool stage matches and will play for pride in their final group game.

For India, it would provide an opportunity to test their depth ahead of the knockout stages of the competition.

India beat China (4-3) and Japan (3-2) in their opening two matches to confirm their place in the next stage while Kazakhstan were beaten 0-7 by Japan and 1-13 by China in their first two matches.

Also Read: Men’s Hockey Asia Cup 2025 Points Table: India qualify for Super 4s with back-to-back wins

India edge past Japan to book spot in Super 4 stage

The Indian men’s hockey team continued their winning form in the Men’s hockey Asia Cup 2025 with a 3-2 victory against Japan in their second Pool A fixture at the Rajgir Hockey Stadium, in Rajgir, Bihar.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh (5’, 46’) and Mandeep Singh (4′) scored goals for India while Kosei Kawabe (38′,59′) scored a brace for Japan.

With this win, India have secured a spot in the Super 4s stage as they progress ahead in the tournament. The match also marked an important milestone for Indian goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak as he celebrated his 150th international game.

Hosts India continue its winning momentum in Men's Hockey Asia Cup 2025! 🇮🇳🔥🔥Captain @13harmanpreet scored a brace while Mandeep netted the opener in the victory over Japan. 😍The win also propels India to top of the points standings in Pool A ahead of China🇨🇳 and Japan🇯🇵.… pic.twitter.com/QJAwRCbFqm

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) August 31, 2025

India made a bright start to the first quarter, scoring two back-to-back goals in the first five minutes to assert their dominance. In the fourth minute, Sukhjeet Singh collected the ball on the baseline and played a perfect pass to Mandeep Singh (4′) as he beat his marker in front of goal and finished it into the net to open the scoring.

In the very next minute, India won their first penalty corner of the day and after two retakes, captain Harmanpreet Singh (5′) fired a powerful shot that struck the Japanese goalkeeper’s foot and went into the goal to increase the home side’s lead. Japan too won a penalty corner in the 13th minute; however, it didn’t amount to anything. 

Also Read: Japan vs India Highlights & Replay, Men’s Hockey Asia Cup 2025

Japan improved upon their performance in the second quarter as we saw end-to-end action between the two sides, but India’s resilient defence ensured the lead remained intact.

In the 19th minute, Japan came close to scoring as Ryosuke Shinohara dribbled down the middle and fired a backhand shot which went narrowly wide.

Japan won their second penalty corner in the 24th minute but Jarmanpreet saved it on the line and cleared it away for a retake which was eventually stopped by India.

The home team won their second penalty corner towards the end of first half, but Amit Rohidas couldn’t find the target with his drag-flick.

Japan found their first goal in the third quarter as Kosei Kawabe (38′) did well to collect a difficult pass inside the circle and followed it with an angular shot, finding the bottom right corner past the keeper.

After the goal, Japan had a spring in their steps as they started attacking aggressively in search of an equaliser, but India ensured their controlled the possession and tempo of the game to not give away another goal.

With just seconds left in the quarter, India won a crucial penalty corner which was converted beautifully by captain Harmanpreet Singh (46′) through the goalkeeper’s legs to reclaim the two-goal cushion for India.

Also Read: Men’s Hockey Asia Cup 2025: Updated schedule, fixtures, results, live streaming details

In the opening minutes of the final quarter, Japan won a penalty corner but were met with two incredible back-to-back saves by Indian goalkeeper Suraj Karkera.

Moments later Abhishek did well to find space inside the circle from the right as he struck a strong backhand shot towards goal, but it was saved well by the Japanese keeper.

INTO THE SUPER 4s! 🤩#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HumSeHaiHockey #HeroAsiaCupRajgir pic.twitter.com/MWvq65UOVZ

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 31, 2025

In the dying moments of the match, Japan’s Kosei Kawabe (59′) struck his second goal of the day as he won the ball on the rebound inside the circle and scored past the keeper to reduce the deficit.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh was given a yellow card in the final minute as India were down to 10 men, but they slowed down the proceedings and held their ground to protect the slim lead and emerge victorious.

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