Japan stunned three-time champions Pakistan 3-1 in their opening match of the Asia Cup field hockey tournament here on Saturday. Ono Tomonori scored two goals and Yamabori Takahiko one to secure Japan's first-ever victory over Pakistan in a major international tournament.
Shakeel Abbasi hammered home a consolation goal for the South Asians. Japanese coach Yasuda Zenjiro heaped praise on his charges, saying "our forward-line was fast, (they) played well and kept pressure on their defence." "Our aim now is to finish among the top three." "We are really happy to score the first win over Pakistan," he said.
Other matches were one-sided affairs as India whipped Sri Lanka 20-0, South Korea thrashed Thailand 16-0, Malaysia outplayed Hong Kong 13-1 and China defeated Bangladesh 6-0. Japan, who finished fourth in the tournament's last edition at Kuala Lumpur in 2003, rattled Pakistan in the 29th minute when Tomonori made the most of a Maeda Keiji cross from the left.
They kept pressure on Pakistan and increased the lead through Takahiko who converted a penalty-corner in the second half. Pakistan had their chances in the second half, but could convert only one when Abbasi found the target. They were also thwarted by Japanese goalkeeper Nagaoka Shunsuke, who pulled off a couple of saves at crucial times.
"We were not expecting this result," said Pakistani coach Islahuddin Siddiqui. "If you don't play well on a particular day, then any team can beat you. We had chances but missed them at crucial stages. Their goalkeeper performed very well and they made the most of their chances." Defending champions India, who struggled to beat China 1-0 on Friday, toyed with a hapless Sri Lankan side to equal the tournament's record victory margin.
Prabhjot Singh led the goal frenzy for India, scoring five, backed up by Tushar Khandekar, Shivender Singh and Ramchandra Raghunath with three piece. Ignace Tirkey and S. V. Sunil each struck twice, while Rajpal Singh and Prabodh Tirkey scored one apiece. Two-time champions South Korean posted their second successive big win in the tournament, thanks to Kim Byung Hoon and Seo Jong Ho who scored four goals apiece.
Kang Moon Kweon, Kim Chul and Jang Jong Hyun each struck twice, while Lee Nam Yong and Kang Seong Jung scored one goal apiece. Malaysia also continued their winning ways, with Kevinder Singh Makbul and Baljit Singh Sorjab scoring three goals each, in their victory over Hong Kong.
Zulkifli Rejab scored two goals, while Jivan Mohan, Chua Boonhuat, Ahmad Tajuddin, Mohammad Shahrun and Sandrakasi Selvaraju each scored one. Mohammad Swalik scored the lone goal for Hong Kong.
China posted their first win in two matches when they downed Bangladesh, with Na Yu Bo hitting three goals. Others to find the net were Hu Hui Ren, Lu Feng Hui and Yu Yang. Pakistan, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore are in Group A while Group B comprises South Korea, India, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
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