Thank you for joining us for the live coverage of the India vs Japan Asia Cup clash. A blockbuster game on Super Sunday that ultimately went down to the wire. India all but book their spot in the Super 4s with the win.

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Full Time! INDIA WIN! The hosts sail to top spot in Pool A with another one-goal victory, as they survive a late scare against Japan. All in all, hard to argue that they don't deserve the win. Two more goals for Harmanpreet and one for Manpreet too.

IND 3-2 JPN

Q4 13' GOAL! Japan score! Late, late scare for India; late, late hope for Japan! The visitors sneak a goal in through the left side. Is there a final twist to the game?

Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh has been shown a yellow card, and they'll play the final minute with 10 men!

IND 3-2 JPN

Q4 11' Great control and a shot from Sanjay from the right side, but an excellent save by the Japanese goalkeeper. We now have less than 4 minutes to go in the match, and victory seems to be a certainty for India.

IND 3-1 JPN

Q4 1' The fourth and final quarter of the match is underway. India lead by two goals, and Japan need to put in a Herculean effort to make a comeback here. India will all but seal top spot in the group if they clinch victory today.

IND 3-1 JPN

Q3 15' GOAL! India score on the hooter! Penalty corner in the final seconds of the third quarter and captain Harmanpreet Singh scores just as the hooter goes. Fantastic from India, who restore their two-goal lead.

IND 3-1 JPN

Q3 8' GOAL for Japan! The men in red strike at last, and get it beyond Krishnan Pathak to score their first goal of the match. Good buildup from the left and a lovely strike into the net. And suddenly, the game is wide open! 

IND 2-1 JPN

Half-time! India lead by two goals at half-time, and it is no less than they deserve. Excellent performance. They came out the blocks quickly and scored two early goals, and have held the lead since. Mountain to climb for Japan from here.

IND 2-0 JPN

Q 9' Japan are really struggling with the execution of their penalty corners. Japan get three PCs in quick succession, but fail to score. The dragflickers have not performed well so far for Japan, failing to trap properly and get good shots away.

IND 2-0 JPN

Q2 3' The second quarter has begun and India continue on the front foot. Mandeep seems to be at the heart of everything, and tries to get another shot away. Scrambled away by Japan, who are living dangerously here.

IND 2-0 JPN

End of Q1! The perfect first quarter for India. Dominant, created chances early on and took them as well. Japan did not concede a single shot against Kazakhstan, but they've been firmly second-best so far against a much stronger India.

IND 2-0 JPN

Q1 11' First two chances of note for Japan as they get not one, but two penalty corners. But they fail to make good use of them. Krishan Pathak in goal makes an excellent save in the process. India keep their two-goal lead.

IND 2-0 JPN

Q1 5' GOAL! India are on fire! Captain Harmanpreet Singh gets his first goal of the match, and of course, it's from a penalty corner. India are re-awarded a PC and Harmanpreet strikes on this occasion. What a start for the hosts!

IND 2-0 JPN

Q1 4' GOAL! Mandeep Singh! The veteran scores the opening goal for India. Lovely move from the left flank, the ball is brought inside to Mandeep who maintains his composure despite many defenders being there, and finishes brilliantly!

IND 1-0 JPN

Q1 1' We are LIVE! The second Pool A match for India and Japan is underway at Rajgir. India have made a few changes to their lineup, with the likes of Jugraj Singh and Jarmanpreet Singh benched for the start.

The players of both teams are now out on the field, with the national anthems now playing. First, it will be the Japanese anthem, and then India's. We are just moments away from the start of this Super Sunday blockbuster!

India hold a massive advantage over Japan in international hockey matches. The two nations have faced off 29 times, with India winning a whopping 24 of them. Japan have won only three times, with two games finishing as draws.

Harmanpreet Singh continues to establish himself as a modern-day Indian hockey legend. Harmanpreet missed a penalty stroke against China, but even then scored a hattrick to fire his team to victory. All eyes will be on the dragflick specialist again today, and the crowd will pin their hopes on him for goals!

The top two from both Pool A and Pool B will qualify for the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup. China's 4-1 victory over Kazakhstan just a few minutes ago, however, means that even a win won't clinch Super 4s qualification today.

However, a win will put India in the driving seat to clinch top spot in the Pool.

We are less than 10 minutes away from the scheduled start of the Asia Cup clash between India and Japan. The match is expected to get underway at 3:00 PM IST. Grab your popcorn, the most high-profile match of the group stage is moments away!

India took on China in their first Pool A match of the Asia Cup, and boy, was it a thriller! India came back from a goal down to lead 3-1, but China roared back to make it 3-3, before India scored the winner to win 4-3! Hattricks, penalty misses, disallowed goals -- the game had it all.

On the other hand, Japan decimated Kazakhstan 7-0 in their first game, not even allowing them to register a single shot.

The Asia Cup 2025 is hugely important as the winner of the tournament will directly qualify for the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026! Hosts India are one of the favourites in the tournament, and they'll surely have the World Cup qualification as a primary goal.

A very warm welcome to one and all to NDTV Sports! We're here today with the live coverage of the hockey Asia Cup Pool A match between hosts India and Japan. Both teams started off their campaigns with a win, and now face off in a Super Sunday blockbuster!

Stay tuned for all the live updates from the game.