Defending champion India had to work hard for a 3-2 victory over Japan in the semifinals of the Asian Champions Trophy at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex here on Saturday. Pakistan prevailed 3-1 (4-4) over Malaysia in the shoot-out, in the other semifinal.
Field goals from Gurjant Singh and Dilpreet Singh and a set-piece penalty corner strike by Chinglensana helped India overcome the hard-working Asian Games champion.
After losing its preliminary league encounter 9-0, Japan had promised to give India a tough game if the teams met again in the tournament.
“Japan are tough opponents and we knew we could not take them lightly,” said India skipper Manpreet Singh. “We created many chances, but there was some missing and it put us under pressure.
“We must take care of Pakistan’s counterattacks.” Manpreet added.
The results (semifinals): India 3 (Gurjant 19, Chinglensana 44, Dilpreet 55) bt Japan 2 (Wakuri 22, Zendana 56); Pakistan bt Malaysia 3-1 shoot-out (4-4 regular time) .
