Asia Cup hockey: South Korea deny India final berth

The Indian men’s hockey team failed to make the final of the Asia Cup 2022 after being held to a 4-4 draw by South Korea in its last  Super 4s match at the GBK Sports Complex Hockey Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday.

Going into the match, India needed a win to qualify for the gold medal match as Malaysia had already beaten Japan 5-0 earlier in the day to seal a spot in the top two of the Super 4s.

The draw against South Korea meant three teams - Malaysia, India and South Korea – ended the Super 4s with five points each.

India, who were the defending Asia Cup champions heading into the tie, however, could not progress because of their lower goal difference of +1 compared to South Korea’s +2 and Malaysia's +5.

With a third-place finish in the Super 4s, India will take on fourth placed Japan for the bronze medal on Wednesday.

The match against South Korea saw Nilam Sanjeep (9’), Maninder Singh (21’), Sheshe Gowda (22’) and Mareeswaran Sakthivel (37’) scoring for India.

Meanwhile, Jang Jonghyun (13’), Ji Woo Cheon (18’), Kim JungHoo (28’) and Jung Manjae (44’) netted for South Korea.

India, who dropped a place to fourth in the latest world rankings, made a strong start against the world No. 15 South Korea.

India made a circle penetration early into the match with a mazy run from Pawan Rajhbhar and won a penalty corner in the next minute.

Nilam Sanjeep’s drag flick down the center, however, was easily saved by the experienced Korean goalkeeper Kim Jaehyeon.

India continued building their attacks from the right flank, with Pawan and Uttam Singh combining well to keep the Korean defence on its toes.

The Birendra Lakra-led Indian side drew first blood in the ninth minute through a penalty corner from Nilam Sanjeep, who drove it perfectly into the bottom left corner.

Korea had an opportunity to equalise in the next minute but the Indian defence did just enough to deny the counter attack and then saved a penalty corner as well.

However, the lead did not last long as South Korea drew level in the 13th minute.

Jang Jonghyun sent in a cracking drag flick past the Indian keeper Suraj Karkera after Dipsan Tirkey had conceded a penalty corner.

The second quarter saw a lot of goalmouth action on both ends.

Three minutes into the second period, South Korea took the lead as Pawan Rajbhar was dispossessed in the Indian circle by Lee Jungjun. The Korean found an unmarked Ji Woo Cheon right in front of the goal, who slotted it in.

Action quickly moved to the other end of the pitch with India scoring two goals in quick succession to regain the lead.

First Maninder Singh nicked in a drag flick from Dipsan Tikey in the 21st minute then a brisk counter attack from the left flank saw Sheshe Gowda finish it off with a brilliant drive into the right corner.

With three minutes to go, India were down to 10 men as Uttam Singh was shown a green card for a tackle. Korea took full advantage and equalised again.

This time Kim Jung Hoo drove the ball in from a tight angle on the left side to end the first half at 3-3.

India opted for possession play in the third quarter and edged ahead in the 37th minute.

Sheshe Gowda sent in a hopeful cross from the right wing which somehow found its way to the centre of the circle. An unmarked Mareeswaran Shakthivel was in the right place at the right time to tap in and make it 4-3.

India, despite being down to 10 men again, continued their attacks and could have added another goal before the end of the third quarter. But Uttam Singh missed an easy tap-in in front of an open goal.

On the other end, South Korea found one more field goal through Jung Manjae to head into the final period at 4-4.

With the team back to full strength, India created a flurry of chances in the last quarter but just could not find the finishing touch.

Two lengthy video reviews by India in the dying seconds did not go their way as the match ended 4-4 and India’s title defence came to a close.