Hockey: India looking for revenge on Japan in Super 4 match of Ongoing Asia Cup

Having risen from the ashes like a proverbial phoenix, the promising Indian men's hockey team hopes to improve on previous performances when it plays Japan in the first "Super 4" match of the ongoing Asia Cup. In one of Asia's premier hockey tournaments, India will look to go all the way.

The young Indian team led by Sardar Singh dominated Indonesia despite facing a below-par opponent in their final group game, scoring an amazing 16 goals within an hour.

As far as Pakistan's hopes of making the World Cup qualifying squad were concerned, it was one more than what India needed.


After finishing with four points each in Pool A, India and Pakistan met Japan in the next round, with the defending champions qualifying by virtue of a better goal differential (+1).

India, however, did not have a smooth ride in the opening two matches.

In spite of having qualified for next year's World Cup via the hosting rights, India fielded a team with an inexperienced roster with as many as 12 debutants in order to get much-needed experience.

After drawing 1-1 with Pakistan, the young boys lost 2-5 to Japan, putting them on the brink of elimination.

Despite the fact that they stood at the point of no return, the Indians were not in the mood to give up without a fight. As they defended their title, they made a dramatic turnaround.

Also helping them was Japan's 3-2 win over Pakistan in the final match.

Having achieved their first goal, the Indians will begin their Super 4 campaign against teams like Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. There will be matches between all the teams, with the top two teams progressing to the final.

It will be difficult for the Indian defence, which is led by Lakra, to stop the fast Japanese, while the midfielders will have to unite the team to create chances. For India to defeat Japan, they will need to show more discipline than they did in their initial matches.