14 May 2004	Friday	23 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

GIFU, May 13: India opened the Prince Takamado Cup hockey tournament with mixed fortunes Thursday as their men's team beat Japan 2-1 while China went 4-0 up against their women's side before rain stopped play.

Arjun Halappa fired home the opener for India in the fifth minute on Hari Prasad's pass from the right. He made it 2-0 at the end of the first half when Sandeep Singh pushed in on a penalty corner in the 34th.

Yasuaki Nishimura pulled one back for Japan six minutes into the second half. South Korea defeated China 3-0 as Lee Jung-Son capitalised on one of several penalty corners in the fifth minute.

In the 30th, Kang Sung-Jong hit a rebound off a penalty corner to make it two up, adding one more in the 41st through Kim Jung-Chol off a rebound on yet another penalty corner.

In the women's tournament, Fu Baorong scored twice in the first and 15th minutes, while Li Shuang and Zhou Wanfeng once each in the 10th and 34th to take a 4-0 lead over India when driving rains interruped the game.

After a 40-minute consultation, the organizers decided that the remaining 18 minutes will be played on Friday along with the scheduled Japan-South Korea match. -AFP