Ipoh : Mandeep Singh struck a hat-trick as India staged a strong comeback to beat Japan 4-3 in a league match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament here on Wednesday.
Mandeep Singh struck in the 43th, 50th and 58th minutes after Rupinder Pal Singh (8th minute) powered home a penalty corner to hand India an early lead.
Japan fought back through Kuzama Murata (13th minute), Heita Yoshihara (42nd minute) and Genki Mitani (44th minute).
India now have seven points from four matches. They had started their campaign with a 2-2 draw with title contenders Britain in the opening match of the tournament.
They had then defeated New Zealand 3-1 before going down by a similar margin to favourites Australia on Tuesday.
–IANS