India would like to continue the strong performance in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions Trophy against Japan
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Chennai: Full of confidence indian hockey team when on friday Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) Hockey Tournament When they take on Japan in the semi-finals, they will look to continue their strong performance and maintain consistency throughout the 60 minutes of the match. There is no doubt that India, who topped the points table after winning four matches and playing one draw in the round-robin stage, will start as favorites in this match. But India will have to be careful with Japan because apart from the host, it is such a team which has not faced defeat. The league stage match between the two teams was also a 1-1 draw.
India is at number four in the world ranking, Japan at number 19
Talking about the world rankings, there is a huge difference between the two teams in which India is fourth and Japan is at 19th position. But the home team should not forget that they had lost 3-5 to Japan in the semi-finals of the 2021 edition in Dhaka, while they beat the same opponents 6-0 in the league stage of the Asian Champions Trophy. India have scored the most goals in the tournament so far (20) but their players missed chances in the league match against Japan and the hosts will need to make amends for their poor finishing against the same opponents on Friday. .
India crushed Pakistan 4-0
Head coach Craig Fulton’s men could only convert one out of 15 penalty corners in their league match against Japan and will now have to find ways to score from penalty corners. After India’s 4-0 win over arch-rivals Pakistan on Wednesday, Fulton said it would be important for his team to maintain consistency in all four quarters of the match. Fulton said, ‘We showed good consistency in each quarter (against Pakistan) which we also showed during the match against Japan (in the 1-1 draw on August 4). We broke inside the circle a lot more times in each quarter than Japan. So now it will be a matter of maintaining continuity.
Japan will have to face with patience
India’s vice-captain and midfielder Hardik Singh also agrees with his coach but feels that to score more goals against Japan, apart from reaching inside the ‘box’ and taking shots, there will also be a need to have more patience. He said, ‘We hope to continue this rhythm. But we still need more restraint inside the box, which is a very important part. Along with this, we also have to decide the rhythm of the game. We will take them (Japan) as the top team.
Japan in semi-finals on the basis of better goal performance than Pakistan
As far as Japan is concerned, it made it to the semi-finals because of better goal difference than Pakistan. Talking about its performance in the tournament, its performance was not so impressive as the team managed to win only one (against China) and lost one match while drawing two. India may be a strong contender in this match but Japan will try to take inspiration from their earlier performance against the hosts. Japan however impressed in defence, especially the way their defenders stopped the Indian forwards during penalty corners. But their forward line has been disappointing.
Malaysia to face South Korea in the semi-finals
Malaysia, who finished second ahead of the India vs Japan match, will face third-placed defending champions South Korea in the second semi-final on Friday. Malaysia has impressed in this tournament, with four wins and one loss. Looking at the current form, she will start as a strong contender against Korea. Korea’s performance was not so special.
Indian goalkeeper Sreejesh breaks silence on retirement
Veteran India hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is taking one tournament at a time and will see how things pan out after the Asian Games in China in September-October as far as his future is concerned. Are. Legendary goalkeeper Sreejesh (35), who made his debut for India in 2006, is now nearing 300 international appearances. He is currently doing the goalkeeping for India in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) along with Krishna Bahadur Pathak.
Thinking of one tournament at a time: Sreejesh
When asked about the possibility of playing another phase of ACT, Sreejesh told PTI, “At this age it would be better if you don’t ask me about the next two years.” Now it will always be a matter of next year. I will play in the Asian Games and only then will we see how things progress. I am thinking of only one tournament at a time. ACT is a biennial tournament but the venue and date for the next phase has not been announced yet. After India beat arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 on Wednesday, Sreejesh said, ‘As Novak Djokovic said, ’35 years is the new 25 years’. That’s why I am definitely in it.
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