India, Malaysia and South Korea finished on five points each in the Super 4 stage but the Birendra Lakra-led side fell behind on goal difference.
Follow Us
A resilient South Korea held India to a 4-4 draw in the Super 4s on Tuesday to enter the final of Asia Cup hockey 2022. Meanwhile the young Indian team failed to qualify for the final as they needed a win from the game. In Jakarta, India took an early lead but then surrendered their advantage thrice to settle for a draw. Malaysia’s 5-0 win over Japan early in the day meant that India needed a victory to stay alive in the title race. India, Malaysia and South Korea finished on five points each in the Super 4 stage but the Birendra Lakra-led side fell behind on goal difference. Korea will now play Malaysia in the final on Wednesday, while India will take on Japan in the third-fourth place classification match.
A scintillating game ends in a DRAW!! ?
IND 4:4 KOR #IndiaKaGame #HockeyIndia #HeroAsiaCup #MatchDay #INDvsKOR @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/eor7QdAZuB
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) May 31, 2022
Both sides started the match with good intensity and India earned the first Penalty corner, but Korean keeper Jyhyeon Kim was up to the task. It was a midfield slugfest in the initial stages but India managed to pass the ball well and kept more ball possession. India earned a penalty after Kim made a brilliant save to deny Uttam singh. Nilam Sandeep stepped up and converted the penalty to put India ahead inside the opening 9 minutes. But South Korea were quick to respond and equalised within four minutes of the goal. The Koreans earned a PC after a dangerous cross from the left hit the leg of Dipsan Tirkey. Korea made the most of their first PC as Jonghyun Jang converted it to bring back the contest on level terms.
Read more: India Hockey: The Greatest Year in the Sport After 1980
The first quarter ended all square. And then , Korea took a surprise lead against the run of play courtesy of a defensive error by India. Pawan Rajbhar loses the ball inside the circle. Jungjun Lee fed the ball to Ji Woo Cheon, who picked his spot from close range. But India drew level three minutes later when Tirkey’s drag deflected off Maninder Singh and went past Kim into the back of the goal. Mahesh Sheshe Gowda restored the lead a minute later. India bounced back from a defensive third to convert the chance into a goal. Gowda received a pass on the left side and made no mistake as he put the ball inside the goal. In response, Korea got two back-to-back PC’s but India’s defence held firm.
However, Korea then managed to score a field goal. Taeil gave a good pass to Jung Hoo on the left flank and the latter hit the ball on the far post. India goalie Suraj Karkera had no chance. India’s defence wasn’t having a great day as Korea got another chance early in the third quarter, but failed to take the chance. And then, India went all out and restored their lead in the 37th minute. Gowda delivers an excellent cross to find Mareeswaren Sakthivel right in front of goal and the 21-year-old dribbles past a charging goalie before scoring India fourth goal of the night.
In the 42nd minute, Uttam Singh missed a sitter when he failed to connect to Rajkumar’s cross standing in front of an open goal. Meanwhile Yashdeep received a yellow and had to sit out for five minutes. Koreans made full use of the man-advantage to make the score 4-4. Jun Manjae got on the end of a long pass and managed to deflect the ball into the net. Both teams entered the final quarter exhausted after intense end-to-end action. Just 27 seconds remaining, Karthi Selvam came close to handing India the winner but the Korean goalie Kim made a double save to deny the deafening champions the winner.
