The Indian men’s hockey team will look to continue their winning momentum as they take on Japan in the Asian Champions Trophy at Jalandhar’s Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium on Friday, ESPN reported.
India opened the tournament on October 27 with a massive 13-0 victory against Bangladesh, where captain Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring and forward Mandeep Singh added a hat-trick, according to Brut. The hosts followed that up on Thursday with a 5-2 win over China, solidifying their place at the top of the standings with six points and a commanding +16 goal difference.
Back-to-back victory for India in the Asian Champions Trophy 🇮🇳💪India will be back in action tomorrow for their league match against Japan 🎯▶️ Here's how the action unfolded: https://t.co/JYSpvWQz87 pic.twitter.com/10NmTAxejW
Tactical adjustments and squad depth under Fulton
Against China, chief coach Craig Fulton utilized fresh legs by resting Abhishek and Vivek Sagar Prasad, bringing in Vishnukant Singh and Angad Bir Singh to anchor the rotation. The tactical shift brought immediate dividends as captain Harmanpreet Singh and Player-of-the-Match Sukhjeet Singh each netted a brace, while Jugraj Singh added a fifth goal to keep the pressure on.
Fulton praised his side’s overall execution after the match, noting the importance of keeping the pressure high across all four periods. “It’s just about us getting more consistency in all the quarters. It is a positive takeaway, and not just being good in two or three quarters,”
Fulton said, as reported by ThePrint. He added that the third quarter offered the team’s best tempo of the night.
China put up a stubborn fight through a compact defense and goals from Yang Peng and Chen Chongcong. Fulton acknowledged the opponent’s resilience, stating, “But China is a good team. They defended well, ran hard and enjoyed the game. Maybe we could have scored a few more but it wasn’t to be.”
India leads table as South Korea and China struggle
The early rounds of the single round-robin league have tightly contested the top tier of the table. While India sits comfortably in first place with six points, Malaysia and Japan also boast six points each, holding goal differences of +3 and +2 respectively. Meanwhile, South Korea, China, and Bangladesh are chasing their first points after dropping their opening two fixtures.
.jpeg "Photo: Brut")
The Assam Tribune noted that the squad had to adjust right before the tournament began when veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh was ruled out due to a calf injury sustained in training. Vivek Sagar Prasad stepped into the roster as his replacement.
The round-robin phase continues in Jalandhar through November 2. The tournament then shifts to the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in Mohali for the semi-finals on November 4 and the medal matches on November 5.
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