WC: India stuns Japan in classification match

Under-fire captain Harmanpreet Singh finally came good with his drag flick as he and young striker Abhishek struck a brace each as India demolished Asian Games champions Japan 8-0 in an inconsequential FIH Men’s World Cup classification match in Rourkela on Thursday. India, who had made a shock exit from the showpiece event after losing to New Zealand in their crossover match, played their best game but it came too late in the tournament. The hosts, who scored four goals each in the third and fourth quarters, will now play South Africa in the ninth to 12th place match on Saturday. Harmanpreet (46th and 59th minutes) struck twice in the fourth quarter off penalty corners, which should boost his confidence a bit after repeated failures with his drag flick throughout the tournament. He had taken most of India’s 26 PCs before Thursday’s classification match. He had also scored once earlier from his drag flick in the dying moments of the final Pool D match against Wales, but that was after the opponents had taken out the goalkeeper in lieu of an outfield player. The 23-year-old Abhishek, known only by his first name, scored in the 36th and 44th minutes — both field goals — while Mandeep Singh (33rd), Vivek Sagar Prasad (40th), Manpreet Singh (59th) and Sukhjeet Singh (60th) were the other goal-getters for India