India look to trump Japan in Men's Asian Champions Trophy semi-final

The Men in Blue have already beaten their opponents in the group stage in convincing fashion.

The Men's Asian Champions Trophy has reached the semi-final stage. The top four teams from the group stage will now go head-to-head against each other. India reach the semi-final having topped the group stage as they went undefeated.

Apart from India, Japan, Pakistan and South Korea are the other semi-finalists. India will square off against Japan in the semi-final. The match will be played on 21st December at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium in Dhaka and will definitely have a lot at stake.

What happened in previous encounter?

Although India have already beaten Japan in the group stages, the Men in Blue will surely not get complacent knowing the crucial implications of the game. India literally steamrollered Japan in that fixture which will give them that added confidence. The match saw India scoring six goals without reply and beating them in devastating fashion.

Harmanpreet Singh, (10′, 53′) Dilpreet Singh (23′), Jarmanpreet Singh (34′), Sumit (46′), and Shamsher Singh (54′) scored the goals, as Team India picked up a big win against Japan. The defending champions really looked their best. The dynamic frontline of India started troubling the Japan defence as soon as the hooter blew, as they received a flurry of penalty corners early on in the first quarter. Defender Harmanpreet made the most of the opportunity in the 10th minute, as he converted it into the first goal for India. India camped inside Japan’s circle in the final few minutes of the first quarter.

Things changed in the second quarter as Japan looked to get even. But, the Indian defenders were more than upto the task.India left no gaps for the Japanese forwards to get a shot away. Suraj Karkera made two important saves in the third quarter. Early on in the fourth and final quarter, Sumit scored the fourth goal in the 46th minute as India went 4-0 up. From then on India maintained their calm and came away with another clean-sheet.

Team India

India created history by winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Graham Reid’s men were very impressive in the tournament and were one of the favourites coming into the Asian Champions Trophy as a result. However, the first match against South Korea was a disappointment as it ended in a 2-2 draw. The Indian men gave up a two-goal lead to draw the game, putting pressure on themselves.

In contrast, the performance against Bangladesh was a brilliant reply. India defeated the hosts by a 9-0 scoreline, with Dilpreet scoring a hat-trick. This win gives India momentum ahead of the crucial clash against their neighbouring rivals.  Followed by a 3-1 victory over arch rivals Pakistan. On top of that, their last victory over their semi final opponents Japan is surely going to help the cause for India.

Team Japan

Japan also started their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Pakistan. Followed by a 3-3 draw against South Korea. Japan won 5-0 next against Bangladesh followed by a crushing defeat at the hands of India. They finished fourth in the table.

Key Players

Harmanpreet Singh (India)

Harmanpreet Singh is the penalty-corner specialist of the India side participating in the Asian Champions Trophy. He was in terrific form when India won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In this tournament too he has been one of, if not, the best player for India.

He remains one of the most crucial members of the squad. A penalty corner specialist, he is one of the best drag-flickers in the world. His two goals against Japan in their last encounter will also be fresh on his mind. With six goals, the drag-flicker is currently the leading scorer in the tournament. Infact, all of these goals have come from penalty corners.

Kenta Tanaka (Japan)

Asian gold medalist Kenta Tanaka will be Japan's key player. The 33-year-old veteran will be leading the forward line and controlling Japan's offence. He has already scored two goals in the tournament against South Korea and Bangladesh he will be Japan's go-to man.

India Squad

Krishan Bahadur Pathak (GK), Suraj Karkera (gk), Gurinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Mandeep Mor, Harmanpreet Singh, Dipsan Tirkey,  Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh (Captain), Sumit, Rajkumar Pal, Akashdeep Singh, Shamsher Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gursahibjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh.

Japan Squad

Takumi Kitagawa(GK), Takashi Yoshikawa (GK), Takuma Niwa, Seren Tanaka, Hiromasa Ochiai, Kazuma Murata, Taiki Takade, Kenta Tanaka, Manabu Yamashita, Raiki Fujishima, Ken Nagayoshi, Hiroto Takebayashi, Kato Ryosei, Masaki Ohashi, Kaito Tanaka, Shota Yamada, Ryoma Ooka, Yoshiki Kirishita.

Broadcast

The match will be shown Live on the Star Sports Network on December 21, 2021 at 5.30 pm IST. It will be also available to stream Live on Hotstar and Jio TV.

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