India Beat Japan 3–2 in Hockey Asia Cup

By Abhishek Kumar

The Indian men’s hockey team continued their good run in the Hockey Asia Cup 2025 with another close win, this time against Japan. India defeated Japan 3–2 in Rajgir Bihar and with this result, the team has qualified for the Super 4s stage after topping Pool A.

India started strongly and gave the home fans a reason to cheer early Mandeep Singh scored the opening goal followed by a penalty corner strike from skipper Harmanpreet Singh in the 5th minute. India were 2–0 up in no time and looked in full control. Japan however came back into the match in the third quarter when Kosei Kawabe found the net. But Harmanpreet leading from the front scored once again in the 46th minute to restore India’s two-goal cushion.

The final quarter turned tense. Kawabe scored his second for Japan in the 58th minute making it 3–2. To make things more difficult Harmanpreet received a yellow card and India were down to 10 men for the closing moments. But the defense held their nerves and India managed to finish the match on top. This victory takes India into the next round and keeps their Asia Cup title hopes alive along with boosting chances for the 2026 Hockey World Cup qualification