India had no answer to a second half storm from Japan in their first match of the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament Round 2, suffering a heavy 0-7 defeat at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Tashkent on Thursday.
India head coach Thomas Dennerby had set up a low block, playing a 5-3-2 formation, a strategy that worked well for the first 45 minutes as they managed to keep it 0-1 at the breather.
A majority of defensive work fell on the shoulders of centrebacks Ashalata Devi, Sweety Devi and Ritu Rani, central midfielders Sangita Basfore, Shilky Devi and Indumathi Kathiresan, who had their work cut out inside their own penalty area.
India had a few rare forays into the Japan attacking third in the opening exchanges, as Indumathi sent a long ranger which was blocked by Hana Takahashi.