Indian Men’s Hockey team’s valiant effort at the Asian Cup comes to an unfortunate end as they could only manage a 4-4 draw against South Korea in a must win match. The Men in blue tried everything but the Koreans were equally good and matched them at every step to hold onto a draw and qualify for the finals.
It was a great learning curve for the young Indian team under head coach Sardar Singh. The youngster got massive exposure to international standards as they featured against the top teams in the continent and despite having their back against the walls, they stood up everytime proving tremendous grit and character.
It was yet another tight contest which went down the wire but the Koreans defended resolutely and held India to 4-4 scoreline. Indian knew that they had to win to reach the finals and therefore they started the game with a lot of attacking intent as Dipsan Tirkey combined with Pawan Rajbhar to create an opening but the Korean defence stood tall to thwart away the danger. Sanjeep Xess had a chance to score from the first penalty corner of the game but his effort was once again put away by the Koreans. But Sanjeep got another chance a few minutes later and this time he made no mistake to score the first goal of the game through yet another penalty corner as Indian took the lead in the 9th minute.
But South Korea responded with a sensational goal from a penalty corner immediately as Jang Jonghyun scored the goal and brought the teams back on level terms at the close of the first quarter.
India continued the onslaught as Dipsan Tirkey’s effort on goal was saved by the South Korean custodian Kim Jaehyeon. Ji Woo Cheon gave the Koreans a timely lead as his shot from close range deceived the Indian goalkeeper Suraj Karkera completely. But the Indians came up with a great retaliation as Maninder SIngh brought both the teams back on level as he squared off a rebound from a penalty corner.
India’s best play came from a fantastic counter attack as they moved the ball from defence to attack with great precision and pace with Sheshe Gowda BM finished the move by steering the ball into the net and handing India the important lead. It looked like the Men in Blue will sneak in the win and reach the finals.
But fortune and the Koreans had other ideas as Kim Jung Hoo capitalized a poor piece of defending form the Indians and slotted the ball past Karkera to restore parity.
India began the third quarter with a lot of caution as they held onto the possession and made cautious moves. It was Gowda who made a beautiful move inside the circle for Mareeswaran Shakthivel, who tapped the ball into the net to hand India a 4-3 lead. But the Koreans drew level once again through Jung Manjae as the match ended on 4-4 with South Korea going through to the finals where they will face Malaysia for the Asia Cup title.
