CHENNAI: A spirited Japan outfit held India to a 1-1 draw on day two of the Asian Champions Trophy. Japan, defending Asian Games gold-medallists, scored the opener through Ken Nagayoshi in the second quarter via a penalty corner.
The hosts, who were looking slightly lacklustre in the opening two stanzas, created a lot of penalty corners in the last two quarters but managed to convert only one, thanks to Harmanpreet Singh's powerful drive in the 43rd minute.
Harmanpreet & Co. ditched their slow build-up for a more Indian counter-attacking style in the last two quarters. They created more openings as a result of it but failed to take advantage. The hosts next face table-topping Malaysia in Sunday’s late game.
Earlier in the evening, coming back from their defeat in the opening game, Pakistan drew 1-1 with South Korea. In the second game, Malaysia continued their good run to register their second win of the tournament, beating China 5-1. Saturday is a rest day. China was the first to score, but Malaysia came back strong and did not look back after half-time. Friday’s results: South Korea 1-1 Pakistan, China 1-5 Malaysia, India 1-1 Japan.