M A I N   N E W S

India stun S. Korea, enter final

South Korea's Kim Chul (R) jumps as India's Baljit Dhillon hits the ball during their Asia Cup semifinal match in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. — Reuters photo

Kuala Lumpur, September 26
India came from behind to scrape past a gritty South Korea 4-2 in a keenly contested match to book a berth in the final of the Asia Cup hockey tournament here today.

Trailing 0-1 till the 53rd minute, India bounced back in with four goals in quick succession to win their first match against the Asian Games winners in five years.

India, who were erratic in the first half, put their act together after the break to avenge for their loss against the defending champions in the semifinals of the last edition of the game. The final will be played on Sunday.

South Korea were given the lead through Yo Hyo Sik in the 39th minute before Sandeep Michael, undoubtedly the hero in today’s win, put India back into the match with a superb goal 14 minutes later.

Though two more goals by Prabhjot Singh (67th) and Gagan Ajit Singh (69th) gave India a comfortable 2-1 lead, a resurgent South Korea threatened to neutralise the lead as Lee Jung Seon slammed home in the 69th minute.

As the spectre of an equaliser loomed large, Deepak Thakur put to rest all the fear by scoring seconds before the hooter.

The forwards looked a bit jaded in the first half during which they played without much co-ordination, but they struck when it mattered most as India booked their berth in the final for the fifth time in the sixth edition of the competition.

The second half saw a vastly improved side that not only put pressure on the opposition post on several occasions but created several opportunities, though most of them went abegging. Each of the forwards, including skipper Dhanraj Pillay, made attempts at the goal but were unlucky not to find the target on a number of occasions.

The match witnessed some tense moments when Baljit Singh Dhillon was stick-checked by a Korean defender when the Indians were trailing 0-1. Dhillon, who was making a move, gave the player a piece of his mind since the Indians were trying desperately for the equaliser. Later when the match was tantalisingly poised, one player from each side was shown the yellow card for different reasons.

The umpire gave Kim Chul the marching orders when the South Korean earned a second green card while India were taking their second penalty corner.

The absence of Chul from the field for five minutes proved costly for the defending champions since it gave the Indians the chance to take a 2-1 lead in the 67th minute.

Defender Kanwalpreet Singh was also ejected from the ground after he pushed a rival player before entering into to an argument with the umpire.

The win also gave India yet another chance to break their Asia Cup jinx as they have never won the trophy before.

India, whose performance in the first half was erratic, were lucky not to concede any goals in the first half since the South Koreans made several incisive moves. The Indians left huge gaps in their defence inviting trouble but their opponents failed to grab the opportunities though they came close to taking the lead on few occasions.

Chauhan, who had a lacklustre outing against Pakistan in India’s last league match on Wednesday, had a good day under the post today when he effected two more good saves to keep India in the hunt for a place in the final.

The nippy Koreans came within striking distance of scoring their first goal but failed to take the lead for some poor finishing.

A few good moves on the right flank and equally impressive crosses posed some threats to their opponents but the absence of the Koreans at the right place to deflect those passes worked in favour of the Indians.

Pakistan down spirited Japan

Three-time champion Pakistan downed spirited Japan 3-1 to move into the final of the 6th Asian Cup hockey championships here today.

Pakistan will meet arch-rivals India who beat South Korea 4-2 in an earlier match in Sunday’s final.

Runners-up in the last edition, Pakistan did not have to extend themselves to beat Japan but they could not take things easy either. The fact that both teams had four penalty corners each was a reflection of the parity in possession that they enjoyed.

Pakistan though had greater precision, scoring from two of their penalty corners. Pakistan took the lead in the 27th minute through a field goal by Shabbir Hussain. But they did not enjoy the lead for long for in the 39th minute Ryuji Furusato collected a free-hit pass from Kazayuki Ozawa to equalise for Japan.

The goal spurred the Japanese to attack Pakistan with renewed enthusiasm but the difference between the sides was Pakistani precision, particularly at the penalty corner.

In the 41st minute, off their second penalty corner, Sohail Abbas relayed the ball to Ghazanfar Ali who found the net with a powerful high flick.

Unfazed by that setback Japan took the attack to Pakistan, but they lacked their opponents’ precision at the penalty corner. All four of Japan’s penalty corners came in the second half but none brought profit.

In contrast, Pakistan were deadly accurate with Nadeem Ahmad scoring off their four penalty corner in the 57th minute. — PTI, UNI