Japan thrashed Hong Kong of China 12-1at the men's hockey
tournament at the Doha Asian Games on Saturday.
After the inspired performance against Malaysia, Hong Kong were
brought back down to earth against a quicker and more skillful
Japan who had no problems pushing them aside to take a
comfortable6-0 lead by the break.
Japan's top scorer Takahiko Yamabori blasted in six goals, three
in each half and all but one from penalty corners.
Toshiaki Fukuda scored four while Hiroki Sakamoto, who had
opened the scoring in the fourth minute, and Kazuhiro Tsubouchi
grabbed the other Japanese goals.
Akbar Ali scored a consolation goal for Hong Kong in the 68th
minute but Japan immediately restored their 11-goal advantage
through Fukuda in the last minute with Japan's seventh penalty
corner goal to leave Hong Kong cemented to the bottom of Group
A.
"I am not really satisfied. It's frustrating for us," said Hong
Kong coach Simon Chapman.
"The boys are not used to playing in the mornings. They train
late into the night. If we had played later in the day we would
have scored more goals.
"Today our biggest problem was having to defend against
Japan."
"They played very well today. The are the strongest team."
Pakistan dished out a 9-0 victory over Chinese Taipei.
Pakistan tops Group A with a superior goal difference over
Japan, both sides requiring only a draw from the upcoming match to
ensure they qualify for the semifinals.
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(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2006)