Japan thrashed Hong Kong of China 12-1at the men's hockey tournament at the Doha Asian Games on Saturday.

After the inspired performance against Malaysia, Hong Kong were brought back down to earth against a quicker and more skillful Japan who had no problems pushing them aside to take a comfortable6-0 lead by the break.

Japan's top scorer Takahiko Yamabori blasted in six goals, three in each half and all but one from penalty corners.

Toshiaki Fukuda scored four while Hiroki Sakamoto, who had opened the scoring in the fourth minute, and Kazuhiro Tsubouchi grabbed the other Japanese goals.

Akbar Ali scored a consolation goal for Hong Kong in the 68th minute but Japan immediately restored their 11-goal advantage through Fukuda in the last minute with Japan's seventh penalty corner goal to leave Hong Kong cemented to the bottom of Group A.

"I am not really satisfied. It's frustrating for us," said Hong Kong coach Simon Chapman.

"The boys are not used to playing in the mornings. They train late into the night. If we had played later in the day we would have scored more goals.

"Today our biggest problem was having to defend against Japan."

"They played very well today. The are the strongest team."

Pakistan dished out a 9-0 victory over Chinese Taipei.

Pakistan tops Group A with a superior goal difference over Japan, both sides requiring only a draw from the upcoming match to ensure they qualify for the semifinals.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2006)