Statistical Talk: India-Japan Men Head-to-Head
The Indian men’s hockey team cranked up their performance after a ‘not so impressive’ tournament opener against China posting a 5-1 victory over Japan in the 9th Asian Champions Trophy at Hulunbuir – the win was India’s 86th win in 97 encounters between the two Asian opponents – Japan have won six times against India and played out draws on five occasions. Both India and Japan had first met at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, where they won 11-1 riding on three hat-tricks by Dhyan Chand, Roop Singh, and Gurmit Singh Kullar.
Read Statistical Talk: India-China Men Head-to-Head Record
India had last faced off against Japan at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, where they won 5-1 in the final besides beating them 4-2 in the pool phase. The last time Japan really came hard at India was at the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy at Chennai, where they held the Blueshirts to a 1-1 draw.
It is worth recalling that Japan have beaten India twice in last three-four years – they beat India 5-2 at the 2022 Asia Cup at Jakarta, and subsequently won 5-3 at the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy at Dhaka (biggest defeat inflicted on India so far) – they have shown that they are no longer the ‘whipping boys’ of Asian hockey and on their ‘day’ can upset the applecart of top sides.
Read All You Want To Know About Men’s Asian Champions Trophy
India posted a massive 11-0 win over Japan at the 1962 International Invitational Tournament at Ahmedabad – this remains India’s biggest international win over Japan. In all 97 encounters, India have scored 375 goals, while Japan have scored 89 goals.
| Matches Played | 97 |
| India Won | 86 |
| Japan Won | 6 |
| Matches Drawn | 5 |
| Biggest India Win | India won 11-1 at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics |
| Biggest Japan Win | Japan won 5-2 at the 2022 Asia Cup at Jakarta |
| Goals Scored by India | 375 |
| Goals Scored by Japan | 89 |
| Last Encounter | India Won 5-1 at the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy at Hulunbuir |
