India overcome Japan 4-3 thanks to Mandeep Singh hat-trick in Hockey
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
India's chances of reaching the final of the 2017 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey tournament remain intact following their narrow 4-3 victory over Japan in Ipoh, Malaysia on Wednesday, but the team will know of their fate only after the conclusion of the Great Britain v Australia match later today.
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Japan, ranked 16th in the men's game, pushed World No 6 India shot for shot while running them nearly ragged, but in the end were left stunned by a hat-trick of goals from Mandeep Singh. In a stirring display of excellence, Mandeep scored goals in the 45th, 51st and 58th minutes to pull a flagging India away from their opponents, for whom Heita Yoshihara and Genki Mitani had scored inside five minutes as the third quarter ended with Japan ahead 3-2.
As in the match against Australia on Tuesday, India were put into the advantage first only to end the first half with the scores level, but what really threatened to end their campaign was allowing Japan goals in the 43rd and 45th minutes. Somehow, India kept their heads to rebound in the final quarter through Mandeep's outstanding stick work which was, ultimately, the difference between victory and an upset loss.
