ACT hockey: India suffer 3-5 loss to Japan in semi-final

Dhaka: Defending champions and Olympic bronze medallist India dished out a below-par performance to suffer a stunning 3-5 defeat against Japan in the second semifinal of the Asian Champions Trophy men's hockey tournament here on Tuesday.

India were the overwhelming favourites before the start of the match after having thrashed the same opponents 6-0 in their last round robin match and also on head-to-head record, but the Japanese had other plans.

Japan were a completely different side on Tuesday as they toyed with the defence of the Manpreet Singh-led side from the beginning.

The Indians were nowhere near their last match performance against Japan as their defence crumbled under relentless pressure from the lower-ranked opposition from the onset of the match.

It was a complete contrast of the performance India had displayed against Japan in their last outing as the Olympic medallist could never recover from the early goals they conceded.

Japan raced to a 2-0 lead inside the first two minutes and that seemed to have jolted the Indians and they played catch-up hockey thereafter.

Japan scored through Shota Yamada (1st minute, penalty), Raiki Fujishima (2nd minute), Yoshiki Kirishita (29th), Kosei Kawabe (35th) and Ryoma Ooka (41st). India's goals were scored by Hardik Singh (17th, 58th minute) and vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh (43rd).

India and Japan had met 18 times before with the hosts winning 16 games, while Japan emerged victorious on one occasion and one ended in a draw.

Japan will now take on South Korea in the summit clash, while India will be once again up against Pakistan in the bronze medal clash on Wednesday.