North India Statesman
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Sukhjeet Singh scored twice in the Asian Champions Trophy as defending champions India defeated Japan 5-1 in the men's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Monday. India put up an all-round performance in the match with Sukhjeet scoring in the second minute.
Also, India's victory was ensured by scoring another goal in the 60th minute. For India, Abhishek scored in the third minute of the match, Sanjay in the 17th minute and Uttam Singh in the 54th minute to keep India in the match. Japan's Matsumoto Kazumasa scored in the 41st minute but it was not enough to defeat India. Four-time Asian champion Team India had earlier defeated China 3-0 in its first match. The team led by Harmanpreet Singh will now face previous runner-up Malaysia on Wednesday. It is noteworthy that after the round-robin league between six teams, the top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals to be played on September 16. The final of the tournament will be played on September 17.
Abhishek, who was the hero of the match, said that this performance was a complete team effort. We stuck to the basics and attacked well in the match and ensured that we remained on target. I am very happy to win the Hero of the Match award.
