Japan caused a major flutter in the men's Asian Champions Trophy hockey 2021 competition by stunning India in the semifinals in Dhaka on Tuesday. Japan scored a 5-3 win against India to set up a final match against South Korea. The Koreans got the better of Pakistan by the barest of margins in an 11-goal thriller earlier in the day. (More Hockey News)
The Japan vs South Korea final and the bronze medal match between India vs Pakistan will be available on live streaming on digital devices. Live streaming of India vs Pakistan can be seen from 3 PM IST while the Japan vs Korea match can be seen live from 5:30 PM IST.
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The Asian Champions Trophy 2021 matches are being broadcast live on the Star Sports Network. Tune into STAR Sports 1 and Star Sports Select 2 to see live action.
Live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
Tuesday saw two thrilling matches. While the Pakistan vs South Korea was expected to be a close encounter, Japan's performance against India was certainly unexpected.
India had whipped Japan 6-0 in the group stage of the ACT 2021 and started as overwhelming favourites at Dhaka's Moulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium. But Japan caught the Indian defence napping with back-to-back goals in the opening minutes.
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India recovered with a 17th-minute goal from Dilpreet Singh but Japan led 3-1 at half-time. Although Harmanpreet Singh and Hardik Singh fetched a goal each for India in the final quarter, it was simply not enough to stop Japan from going into the final of the Men's Asian Champions Trophy 2021.
The bronze medal playoff will be a repeat of the 2018 Asian Champions Trophy final in Muscat, Oman. India and Pakistan finished as joint winners after the final was abandoned due to rain.
India had emerged on top of the five-nation ACT 2021 after three wins and a draw in the round-robin league. India had defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 3-1 in the league stage but after Tuesday's display, Pakistan will be a serious threat.
The Pakistan vs Korea 11-goal thriller showed what the green shirts are capable of. Poor defending can cost India the bronze medal on Wednesday.
Pakistan have two players - Afraz and Arshad Hossain - among the top five scorers of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey 2021. India need to mark them well as the two Pakistanis have scored six goals between them.
India's Harmanpreet Singh (7) and Dilpreet Singh (5) are also among the highest goalscorers of the tournament. Korea's Jonghyun Jang leads the list with eight goals, including a hat-trick against Pakistan in the semis.
