Hockey Shocker: Japan beat India 5-2 in Asia Cup 2022

Though the first quarter ended with 0-0, the second quarter saw a successful penalty corner by the Japanese. Ken Nagayoshi took the penalty corner, ending halftime with a score of 1-0. The third quarter witnessed another goal by Japan by their incredible player, Kosei Kawabe, in the 39th minute. 

Soon after Kawabe's incredible shot, Pawan Rajbhar came to India's rescue and scored the first goal for the team. The third quarter didn't see any more goals ending halftime with Japan in the lead, 2-1. 

While the game was still going pretty equal and competitive, the fourth and the final quarter left no hope for India. Japan went on to score three more goals, allowing India to score only one. When Karthik Selvam got a yellow card, Yamasaki Koji from Japan used the yellow card to their advantage and scored another goal. Japan got another opportunity to score when Pawan Rajbhar got a green card, but they missed it. However, they didn't wait long to make another attack. Their two forwards ran towards the post scoring an easy one and taking their lead to 3-1. 

Today's match saw two goals by Kosei Kawabe and one goal each by Ken Nagayoshi, Ryomi Ooka and Koji Yamasaki. On India's side, Pawan Rajbhar and Uttam Singh both scored one goal each, ending the game with a difficult defeat 2-5. 

India lost to Japan 2-5 resulting in Japan leading the Pool A table. Though India lost this game, they still hold the third position on the Pool A table. India's fate will be decided in Japan's next match with Pakistan this Thursday. On the same day, India will be competing against Indonesia.