Dhaka:
India has brutally lost to Japan in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions Trophy in an eight-goal match with five goals in Japanese favour.
The last time Japan played India, they had lost by a huge difference of 6-0, and this was the replay of the game but satisfaction on the Japanese side.
Japan made a thrilling comeback in the tournament from the very start of the semi-final as they start aggressively, Shota Yamada converting penalty corner early in the game.
The second goal for the winners came within six minutes from another penalty corner taking India in the pressure in the first quarter itself defending their nets from Manpreet Singh-led India.
India stroked hard in the early minutes of the second quarter marking their first goal with the good work touch work of Dilpreet Singh.
The other three goals for Japan came one after another, making it hard for India to keep their hopes high for the semi-finals. India had not lost a single match in the entire tournament but losing the crucial game had shown them the way to the bronze medal match, losing their chance of laying hands on the trophy.
India was at its worst scoreline 1-5 of the tournament at the end of the third quarter as the team was not able to either score or defend their nets against Japan who once looked helpless against the roaring Indian Team as it failed to score a single goal earlier.
What made the situation worse for India was losing their referral in the third quarter and now the team was on the court in a do-or-die match without any safeguard.
India fought hard in the last quarter, reducing the goal difference to two by hitting two goals from the penalty corner but that could not get them the spot in the finals.
The joint-defending champions, India and Pakistan, both lost their respective semi-finals of Asian Champions Trophy and thus, they are set to face-off in the bronze medal match of the tournament
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