India thrash Japan 10-2 in the Asian Champions Trophy

India started their Asian Champions Trophy hockey campaign with a thumping 10-2 win over Japan in Kuantan, Malaysia. At half time, India were leading 7-1. Skipper Rupinder Pal Singh scored six goals. Ramandeep Singh with two and Talwinder Singh and Yousuf Affan with one apiece were the other scorers. In this six nation tournament, Asian Games Gold medalist India is a hot favourite.

style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In the other opener, hosts Malaysia beat defending champion Pakistan 4-2 yesterday. Interestingly, all goals came through penalty corners. The highlight of the round Robin league competition will be the India-Pakistan encounter on Sunday. India is placed sixth in the world ranking and are the only Asian team to feature in the top 10 of the world rankings. South Korea are the second best, followed by Pakistan placed 13th.