Australia

Kookaburras off to a winning start in Tokyo with 5-3 win over Japan


Australia’s men’s hockey team have begun their pursuit of Olympic gold with a fighting 5-3 win over host nation Japan.

The Kookaburras surged to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Tim Brand and Tom Craig, and looked set for a cruisy opening win.

But the Japanese rallied in the second quarter and in the blink of an eye had seized a 3-2 half-time lead with two goals from Seren Tanaka and one from Yoshiki Kirishita.

The Australians took some time to regain the ascendency, but an equaliser from Blake Govers turned the tide.

Captain Aren Zalewski and Daniel Beale took the Kookaburras ahead, and from there they were never challenged.

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Head coach Colin Batch said there were plenty of lessons to take away from the match, but it was a “good start”. 

“We played into their hands a little bit,” he said. 

“They (Japan) are going to scare some teams in this pool so it was good to get that one out of the way.” 

The Australian men's hockey team stand together in a huddle on the field
The Kookaburras are among the favourites in Tokyo, but were run close by the host nation.(

Getty Images: Alexander Hassenstein

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