Japan beat Pakistan 4-0 in Asian Games

KARACHI: Japan defeated Pakistan by 4-0 in their second Group ‘D’ football game of Asian Games in Cikarang, Indonesia on Thursday.

Pakistan, who were playing only their second match since their return to international football after three years, were completely dominated by their Japanese counterparts in the contest.

Yuto Iwasaki took just two minutes to score Japan’s first goal as Pakistani defenders looked helpless against Japan’s attacking football.Seven minutes later, Japan netted the ball again through Reo Hatate. They struck their third goal only a minute later when Daizen Maeda got the better of Pakistan defense.

In the 35th minute, Yuto Iwasaki scored his second goal of the match.Pakistani defenders seemed more alert in the second half, preventing Japan from adding to their goal tally.

Pakistan had lost their opening game of the campaign against Vietnam by 3-0 on Tuesday. It is pertinent to mention here that only three players over 23 years of age can be part of a team in this event.

Meanwhile, Pakistan hockey team defeated Japan 2-0 in a practice match in Jakarta. It may be recalled that Japan had defeated Pakistan thrice in recent events.Pakistan took lead when Mubashir struck the board on a penalty corner.

Their second goal was scored through field game when forward Ijaz found the net. Pakistan will play their second practice match on Saturday (tomorrow), against Oman.Pakistan’s manager Hasan Sardar told ‘The News’ that the players demonstrated good hockey skills. “We could have scored more goals if the forwards had availed themselves of all the chances,” he said.

He said the result was satisfactory because Japan was a tough side. He said the result gave Pakistan a lot of confidence. “We used all our 18 players as we wanted to give match practice to each player before the event begins. The defenders and the goalkeeper played well, not allowing the Japanese strikers to score.

“We have kept our focus on our forwards and penalty corner specialists during practice sessions and that has paid off. The forwards played well against Japan but there is still room for improvement,” said Sardar, a former Olympian.

The manager said that the morale of the players was high and they were determined to win the gold medal. “India are tough rivals but we will not take South Korea, Malaysia, and Japan easy as they are all are tough contenders and in today’s hockey any team can be dangerous,” he added.