India sink hosts Japan 5-3 in men’s hockey

TOKYO, July 30: Striker Gurjant Singh was twice on target as India comfortably outclassed hosts Japan 5-3 on Friday to complete their pool proceedings with four victories after having already sealed a quarter-final berth in the ongoing Olympics.
Apart from Gurjant (17th, 56th), Harmanpreet Singh (13th), Shamsher Singh (34th) and Nilakanta Sharma (51st) scored for India to hand the eight-time Olympic champions their third consecutive win in Pool A at the Oi Hockey Stadium.
Kenta Tanaka (19th), Kota Watanabe (33rd) and Kazuma Murata (59th) were the goal getters for Japan, who were already knocked out of the last-eight race ahead of Friday’s tie.
By virtue of this win, India finished second in Pool A behind Australia with four victories out of five matches.
The Aussies ended their pool engagements on top with four wins and a draw. India’s lone defeat came at the hands of Australia. The top four teams from each pool qualify for quarters. (PTI)