Asian Champions Trophy Hockey Highlights: India beat Japan 5-1 for second successive win

Sukhjeet Singh's brilliant brace helped defending champions India secure a dominant 5-1 victory over Japan in their second consecutive win at the Men's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Monday. India showcased an all-around performance, with Sukhjeet striking early in the 2nd minute and capping the victory with another goal in the 60th minute.

Abhishek (3rd), Sanjay (17th), and Uttam Singh (54th) also found the back of the net, putting India firmly in control of the game. Japan managed to pull one goal back through Matsumoto Kazumasa in the 41st minute, but it wasn't enough to challenge the hosts.

India, the four-time champions, had earlier beaten China 3-0 in their opening match. The Harmanpreet Singh-led team will next face last edition's runners-up, Malaysia, on Wednesday after a rest day on Tuesday.

The tournament features a round-robin format, with the top four teams qualifying for the semifinals on September 16. The final is set for September 17.

A dominant performance from India. Sukhjeet Singh started the scoring for India in the second minute and he ended the contest with another goal in the last seconds of the game. In between, Abhishek, Sanjay and Uttam Singh scored for the defending champions. Matsumoto Kazumasa scored a goal for Japan in the third quarter, which was the best quarter for them. A 3-0 victory over China, followed by 5-1 win against Japan kept India on top of the standings in the tournament.

60th minute: Sukhjeet Singh makes it 5-1 with a last minute goal. His second of the match.

59th minute: A good counter attack from Japan. But they fail to make it count. Good move and disappointing miss for the Japanese forwards.

57th minute: Another good save from Japan keeper to deny India another field goal. It remains 4-1 in favour of India.

55th minute: India fail to convert it into a goal. All their four goals came from the field today. No goal from PC. Brilliant save from the Japanese keeper.

54th minute: GOAL! Uttam Singh scores a field goal to increase the lead for India. A good move inside the Japanese circle, and Uttam tapped the ball in into the empty goal.

54th minute: Sanjay needs a look from the physio after being hit by the ball on the hand inside the Indian circle.

53rd minute: Abhishek enters the Japanese circle from the right and goes for a glory goal. But he tumbles down without troubling the keeper. Good move.

48th minute: A good start for Japan. They are making a lot of moves towards the Indian circle, but yet to make the penetration. India are playing more of defensive line at the moment.

End of Q3: The quarter belonged to Japan. Japan scored a goal in it to reduce the lead against India. India failed to make an impact in the quarter. It's still game on for Japan with the last quarter still to play.

41st minute: Japan open their account with a field goal. Matsumoto Kazumasa with the goal for Japan. A big deflection left India keeper Pathak wrong footed in front of the goal.

36th minute: Vivek Prasad hits the post from the edge of the Japanese circle. A brilliant take down from the aerial pass and what a hit. Missed the goal by a whisker.

33rd minute: A brilliant attack towards goal from the Indian forwards. A couple of impressive one-two between Sanjay and Abhishek during the attack.

The third quarter is underway...India will be looking to dominate the second half too, like they did in the first. Japan will be looking for goals to make a comeback in the match.

End of Q2: India went into the half-time break with a 3-0 advantage. An early goal in the second quarter increased India's lead in the contest. Good defensive game from Japan to keep India forwards at bay most of the time. Two green cards at the same time during the quarter too for India, as they played with nine men for two minutes on the pitch.

25th minute: Jugraj Singh gets a green card. India are down to 10 men for the next couple of minutes. Unnecessary foul by Jugraj. Looks like Abhishek is also on a green card. India are actually playing with nine men on the pitch.

21st minute: Third PC for Japan. Another good save from Suraj. India are on the counter attack now.

17th minute: GOAL! Sanjay scores from the PC, first for India from a penalty corner in the game. It takes a deflection from a Japanese defender before settling into the nets.

End of Q1: India go into the break with a 2-0 advantage. What a start for India. Two field goals from Sukhjeet and Abhishek inside two minutes for the two-goal advantage.

13th minute: Good save by India keeper Pathak. No goal for Japan from the PC. It remains 2-0 in favour of India.

13th minute: Back-to-back PC for Japan. But India skipper Harmanpreet Singh decided to take a review against the decision. India won the referral but PC stays for Japan as the PC is undergoing. So, it's a PC for Japan.

13th minute: Penalty Corner for Japan, first of the contest. Good chance for Japan to reduce the lead.

12th minute: No real chance on goal for both teams, since the two strikes for India in the first two minutes of the contest.

9th minute: The pace of the game slows down a bit. More play in the middle of the pitch, than at either end. India are looking to build more attacking moves without much success in the last five minutes for sure.

6th minute: Good little period for Japan. Despite more possession for India, they kept India forwards away from the goal mouth.

2nd minute: Another field goal for India. Abhishek puts it into Japanese nets from a close range. What a start for the defending champions.

2nd minute: Sukhjeet Singh puts India ahead in no time. What a start for India. First good attack into the Japanese circle and India scored a field goal.

India gets the match underway with the push back. Defending champions India will be looking for an early advantage.

Players of both the teams and umpires are in the middle now. It's time for kick-off. First up, the national anthems of the teams. India's first, followed by Japan's.

Players are warming up in the middle. The kick off shortly

On Day 1, India defeated hosts China 3-0. In other matches, Malaysia held Pakistan 2-2 in a high-voltage contest, while Japan and Korea engaged in a goal-fest before settling for a 5-5 draw.

India won their first match against China 3-0, while Japan played out a thrilling 5-5 draw against Japan on Sunday.

Coming into the tournament after securing a second successive bronze at the Olympics, India looked the more enterprising side, grabbing opportunities up front and was rock solid in defence to emerge winners.

The Indian men's hockey team dished out a dominant performance to launch its title defence with a commanding 3-0 win over hosts China in the Asian Champions Trophy on Sunday. Sukhjeet Singh (14th minute), Uttam, Singh (27th) and Abhishek (32nd) were the goal-scorers for India.