BUSAN, Oct 2: Defending champions India and hosts South Korea sealed semifinal berths in the Asian Games men’s field hockey competition with fluent wins Wednesday.

India defeated Japan 3-0 while South Korea thrashed Hong Kong 14-1 for their second successive wins in Group A.

Meanwhile, in a Group B match, Malaysia notched up an easy 6-1 win over Bangladesh.

India took another step in their bid to defend the title they won at Bangkok, shaking off their rust in attack in the second session to seal the country’s 12th consecutive victory over Japan.

Deepak Thakur, Dhanraj Pillay and Daljit Singh found the back of the net for India, with striker Gagan Ajit Singh having a hand in two of the goals.

Thakur’s strike in the 19th minute came after a gritty war of attrition in midfield.

Pillay latched on to a rebound off a Gagan Ajit shot in the 45th minute and then Gagan Ajit moved inside the circle in tandem with medio Bimal Lakra to set up the third goal for Daljit.

But Hong Kong found bigger tormenters in South Korea.

Yeo Woon-Kon (3), Kang Keon-Wook (2), Kang Seong-Jung (2), Seo Jong-Ho (2), Kim Kyung-Seok, Kim Jung-Chul, Lee Nam-Yong, Shin Seok-Kyo and Song Seung-Tae were the marksmen for South Korea.

Captain Farooq Saeed put the ball in for the losers.

In Group B, Malaysia slammed in four first-half goals to beat Bangladesh 6-1. Captain K. Shanmuganathan and Chua Boon Huat scored two goals each, while Amin Rahim and Fairuz Ramli grabbed one each.

Yamin Hossain converted a penalty corner for Bangladesh with just two minutes to go.

Malaysia, contenders for a semifinal slot from the group along with Pakistan, scored four of their goals through penalty-corners.—AFP

India 3 Japan 0

South Korea 14 Hong Kong 1

Malaysia 6 Bangladesh 1