Ipoh (Malaysia): India defeated Asian Games gold medallist Japan 2-0 to start their campaign at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament on a positive note here Saturday.
Varun Kumar converted a penalty corner in the 24th minute to hand India the lead before Simranjeet Singh (55th) scored a diving field goal from skipper Manpreet Singh’s brilliant pass to secure full three points for the five-time champions.
India will play Korea in their next league game Sunday before taking on hosts Malaysia (March 26), Canada (March March 27) and Poland (March 29).
The top two teams from the round robin league stage will play in the final on March 30.
PTI