The enthusiastic China defeated Japan 2-0 to advance to the semi-final and moved up to third place on the points table here at the ongoing Hero Asian Champions Trophy which will be held at the Moqi hockey training base here on Saturday.
The presence of an enthusiastic home crowd boosted China’s crucial game, as they showed great enthusiasm to sneak into the top four. While they ousted Malaysia from title contention, they also dropped Korea to fourth in the points table and will now face Pakistan in the first semi-final, while India will face Korea in the second semi-final on Monday. Malaysia and Japan will play the first match of the day for fifth and sixth place.
The goals were scored by Benhai Chen (7′) and Jieming Chao (25′) to help China win and see endless celebrations from the home crowd at the Moqi training base.
China came out with plenty of energy from the start, dominating ball possession in the first quarter and creating four shots on goal. From the two PCs they won, they converted a brilliantly executed set-piece to take a significant 1-0 lead as early as the 7th minute of the match. They doubled the lead in the next quarter when Chao scored a superb field goal in the 25th minute.
Although Japan started the third quarter with a tactical attack that earned them a penalty point in the first few minutes after the break, China did an extraordinary job of preventing them from scoring. Chinese goalkeeper Caiyu Wang was kept busy during this quarter, as Japan made six potential forays into the attacking circle but were unable to break through the Chinese defense. Wang was especially outstanding in goal, as he managed to stop a couple of ambitious shots on goal.
The final quarter was also tense for China as Japan kept pushing for elusive goals. Meanwhile, the Chinese attackers also pushed to increase their lead with seven penetrations into the circle and two shots on goal, while Japan managed three short passes, but none could be converted. The fight continued until the final moments, but China kept their cool to come through the match with a big win and three points on the scoreboard.
Match hero Benhai Chen of China said: “We made a lot of preparations for this match and watched various footage of Japan’s matches. We had lost the previous two matches and we definitely wanted to win today and make it to the semi-final. We will return to the hotel and discuss how we can prepare for our next match against Pakistan “on Mondays.”
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