Japan Edge Bangladesh 1-0 as Fujishima Penalty Corner Settles a Tight One
Two days after conceding 13, Bangladesh conceded one. That tells you how much fight there was in this performance.
Japan beat Bangladesh 1-0 in the second game of Thursday’s card at the Surjit Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar. The only goal came in the 40th minute, captain Raiki Fujishima converting a penalty corner. Japan had the chances to make it comfortable and didn’t take them, and Bangladesh, who were hammered 13-0 by India on the opening day, held their shape and stayed in the game to the end.
It was a very different Bangladesh from Tuesday. No collapse, no flood of goals, just a side defending its circle and making Japan work for every opening. Japan dominated the ball and the territory, as you’d expect, but one goal from a set piece was all they got. For Bangladesh, that’s something to build on. For Japan, it’s a warning: the chances they wasted here would hurt against a better side.
Japan now have two wins from two, and they haven’t conceded a goal from open play yet in the tournament. They beat South Korea 3-2 on the opening day, with goals from Kentaro Fukuda, Ryoma Ooka and Kazumasa Matsumoto, and now they’ve ground out a 1-0. Six points, four goals scored, two conceded. Quietly efficient, and quietly dangerous.
The table underneath them is unforgiving. Bangladesh have played two, lost two, scored none and conceded 14. They play Malaysia on Friday at 2:00pm PKT, and Malaysia have scored eight goals in two games. That’s a tough assignment, but Bangladesh will take heart from this one: they kept a good side to a single goal for an hour. Japan, meanwhile, go into the night game on Friday against India, also unbeaten, also on six points. That’s the real test of where Japan stand in this tournament.
Related links:
- https://sportscursor.com/act-thursday-full-card-malaysia-korea-bangladesh-japan-india-china-29-october-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/act-friday-full-card-bangladesh-malaysia-korea-china-japan-india-30-october-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/india-v-china-asian-champions-trophy-thursday-29-october-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/live/
- https://sportscursor.com/rankings/
