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Hosts China beat Japan 2-0 to march into the semifinal as they climbed up to No.3 in the points table here at the ongoing Hero Asian Champions Trophy being held at the Moqi Hockey Training Base here on Saturday.
The presence of a boisterous home crowd boosted China's crucial match as they put up a spirited performance to sneak their way into the top four. While they pushed Malaysia out of title contention, they also pushed Korea down to fourth place in the points table and will now lock horns with Pakistan in the first semifinal, while India will take on Korea in the second semifinal on Monday. Malaysia and Japan will play the first match of the day for the 5th and 6th places. Goals were scored by Benhai Chen (7') and Jieming Chao (25') to help China win and see no end to the home crowd's celebrations in Moqi Training Base. China was pumped up from the start, dominated the ball possession in the first quarter and created four shots on goal. From the two PCs they won, they converted from a brilliantly executed set-piece to take an important 1-0 lead as early as the 7th minute of the game. They doubled the lead in the following quarter when Chao scored a stupendous field goal in the 25th minute, a release said. Though Japan opened the third quarter with a tactical attack that helped them win a PC within the first few minutes after the half-time break, China did exceedingly well to stop them from scoring. The Chinese goalie Caiyu Wang was kept busy through this quarter as Japan made six potential forays into the striking circle but could not breach the Chinese defence. Wang was particularly outstanding at the goalpost, as he managed to save a couple of ambitious shots on goal. The final quarter too remained tense for China as Japan continued to push for elusive goals. Meanwhile, Chinese attackers too pushed to increase their lead with seven circle penetrations and two shots on goal, while Japan came up with three PCs but none could be converted. The slugfest continued into the final moments, yet China held their nerves to get past the contest with a big win and three points in the kitty. Player of the Match, Benhai Chen of China, said, "We did a lot of preparations for this match and watched several match footage of Japan. We had lost the previous two matches and definitely wanted to win today and make the semifinal. We will go back to the hotel and discuss how we can prepare for our next match against Pakistan on Monday." (ANI)
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