Asia Cup: Japan crush India 5-2, Sardar Singh-coached team looking at exit door

A newlook Indian team paid for its inexperience and profligacy with Asian champions Japan soundly thrashing them 52 in a group A league match of the mens Asia Cup hockey championship here on TuesdayHaving drawn against Pakistan in the opening game Indias chances after this defeat will be badly dented as even a big win against Indonesia in the last game might not be enough for qualification to the knockout stagesKen Nagayoshi Kosei Kawabe twice Ryomi Ooka and Koji Yamasaki scored for Japan while Pawan Rajbhar and Uttam Singh found the target for the IndiansHowever the younger crop of players didnt measure up against the Japanese who looked more organised and hit India repeatedly on the countersThe two seniors Birendra Lakra and SV Sunil looked well past their prime and couldnt make any tangible difference with their performancesFirst two quarters were very tough because we didnt get into any rhythm We got better in the last two quarters but didnt create many chances said Lakra the India captainIn the final quarter we lost our defensive structure and conceded a couple of goals Also we lost two men and that had an effect Lakra addedIndia could have gone ahead in the fifth minute of the first half itself when 20yearold Karthi Selvam kept an inch perfect cross from wide left for veteran SV Sunil who was inches short of laying his stick for a tapinThe first quarter was all about trying to get control of the midfield with rookie Indian players losing a lot of possession during the phase of playBut to their delight the Japanese also failed to make too many inroads save one penalty corner which was wellsaved by a diving Indian custodian Suraj KarkeraHowever in the second quarter central midfielder Raj Kumar took a crack at goal from the edge of the striking circle which was saved by Japan goalie Koji Yamasaki and to Indias horror the ball found Sunils boots as he was lurking inside the DBut India suddenly fizzled out in the second quarter after that initial spark even as the Japanese upped their ante and earned two more penalty corners the first of which found dragflicker Yoshiki Kirishita off the mark as his powerful dragflick sailed well over the crosspieceHowever in the 24th minute Ken Nagayoshi converted the penalty corner with a powerful angular drive that beat a diving Suraj all ends upThere came a chance of an equaliser when Nilam Sanjeep Xess assist found Raj Kumar whose reverse hit was saved by the keeperThe problem with the inexperienced outfit was its propensity to attack primarily down the middlethird instead of spreading the game onto the wide flanksThe ageing Sunils poor outing also didnt help the Indians much as the team seemed to lack the art of playing the pressing game to earn the penalty corners unlike the Japanese who were brilliant on the counter during the last two quarters of the gameIt was in the 40th minute Japan made it 20 in a counterattack with Kosei Kawabi snatching the ball from the Indian midfield and sprinting down the right wing running leftback Dipsan Tirkey ragged with his speedIt was a spectacular goal with Kawabi having his back towards the Indian goal with his markers Dipsan and Nilam closing in on him With a body feint Kawabi wrongfooted goalkeeper Suraj and then smashed it home from an acute angleIndia found something going their way in the dying moments of the third quarter when veteran Birendra Lakra kept a powerful assist inside the striking circle melee and the bigbodied centre forward Pawan Rajbhar was in the right place to lay his stick for a perfect deflection that found the top corner of the netThe final quarter once again saw the Indians going all out and conceding a goal against the run of play in the 49th minuteWith all but one players on the overlap Ryosei Kato got a crossfield pass on the wide right and he cut inside with goalkeeper Suraj at his mercy and Ryomo Ooka waiting for an open goal Kato passed it to Ooka who put it gleefully to make it 31However India equalised with the very next move when Rajbhar sent a cross from right and forward Uttam Singh tapped it in from close range to make it 23But there was more bad luck for India as they suddenly lost the numerical advantage with temporary suspensions of Rajbhar and KarthiThe nine versus eleven became a lopsided contest as Japan repeatedly used the right flank to launch their attack Koji Yamasaki got his goal in the 54th minute with a touchin after none of the Indian defenders cared to intercept a cross from the wide rightThe Indian resistance had ended and the fifth goal was the final nail in the coffin Kawabe slotting home in the 56th minute after his first shot rebounded off the goalkeeperThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for 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