India defeats Japan 2-1 in Jakarta's first Super 4s match, with Manjeet Singh and Pawan Rajbhar scoring.
Digital Desk: On Saturday, India stunned Japan 2-1 in the Hero Asia Cup 2022 Super 4s match at the GBK Sports Complex Hockey Stadium in Singapore.
Manjeet (8′) and Pawan Rajbhar (35′) were the stars for India, scoring the team's two goals. Takuma Niwa (18′) scored the game's lone goal for Japan.
Japan earned an early Penalty Corner, but Yoshiki Kirishita's dragflick was wide of the mark. In the next minute, Raiki Fujishima scored, but the goal was disallowed because the umpire had sounded his whistle before the shot was taken due to an infringement in the build-up.
Manjeet displayed individual brilliance from the left wings in the eighth minute, breaking past Japan's defense to give India a 1-0 lead. As the first quarter came to a close, Nilam Sanjeep Xess had an opportunity to double India's lead from a Penalty Corner.
Pawan Rajbhar took advantage of a fantastic move down the left channel by Uttam Singh and scored with a slapshot off the goalkeeper's helmet in the 34th minute to give India the lead.
After grabbing the lead, India maintained their composure in defense, denying Japan the chance to tie the game with a PC.
Manjeet attempted to expand India's lead early in the fourth quarter with a goal-bound shot from an acute angle, but Japan goalie Takashi Yoshikawa made the save.
In the fourth quarter, Japan applied a lot of pressure, but the Indian defense held firm and excluded them.
India will face Malaysia on Sunday in their second Super 4's stage match.
India, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia will play each other once in the Super 4s, with the top two teams advancing to the final.
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