Moqi, Sept. 6 -- The Indian junior hockey team showed tremendous fighting spirit to secure a 3-3 draw against Japan in their second Pool A encounter of the 2026 Men's Junior Asia Cup in Moqi, China, on Sunday.

Fresh from their emphatic 14-0 victory over Indonesia in their opening Pool A match, India made a confident start against Japan and took an early lead in the fourth minute. After India were awarded a penalty stroke following a foul, Captain Anmol Ekka stepped up and calmly converted to put India 1-0 ahead.

India continued to build pressure and doubled their advantage in the 10th minute. After earning a penalty corner, Ashu Maurya found the back of the net to give India a 2-0 lead.

Japan responded almost immediately, winning a pen...