Mohali Semifinals: Japan Edge Malaysia 5-3 in Shootout, India Thrash Korea 8-1 to Set Up Thursday Final

Mohali’s first night of knockout hockey gave us everything the league stage promised and one more twist. Japan are in the final. India are in the final. And Malaysia, the tournament’s entertainers, go home to a bronze game they never expected to play.

The first semifinal refused to give anyone a goal. Japan and Malaysia finished 0-0 after 60 minutes, two days after Japan had beaten the same opponents 2-1 to snatch second place. Malaysia brought the tournament’s second-highest scorer in Abu Kamal Azrai, on five goals. It didn’t matter. Knockout hockey tightened both teams up, and the tie went to a shootout.

Japan held their nerve. They scored all five of their attempts and took it 5-3, booking their third Asian Champions Trophy final. Malaysia’s wait for a first title goes on, and they’ll be furious with themselves. They finished third in the league with three wins, they scored 17 goals in five games, and they still couldn’t find one when it counted most.

Then India did what India have done all tournament, only louder. Korea actually drew level, briefly. Shilanand Lakra put India ahead in the 4th minute, Han Sangjun levelled it in the 9th, and for about thirty seconds Korea could dream. Harmanpreet Singh scored from a penalty corner in that same 9th minute, Lakra added another from a corner in the 13th, and the dream was over.

The rest was a procession. Sukhjeet Singh and Dilpreet Singh both scored in the 21st minute, Dilpreet added his second in the 25th, Angad Bir Singh made it 7-1 in the 36th and Vivek Sagar Prasad finished it off in the 54th. Final score: 8-1. That’s two wins over Korea this week by a combined 16-1, and Harmanpreet’s tally for the tournament is now 10.

For our money, the final is India’s to lose. They’ve won all six games, scored 42 goals, and beaten Japan 4-1 already in the league stage. But Japan have now beaten Malaysia twice in three days in very different ways, and a team that wins a goalless shootout carries a particular kind of belief into a final. India should win. Japan won’t make it easy.

Thursday settles it all at the same stadium. Korea v Malaysia for bronze at 4:00 p.m. PKT, then India v Japan for the trophy at 6:30 p.m. PKT.