Defending champs defeat Korea, take on China for title
Less than 24 hours after scraping past Pakistan (2-1) in their last league engagement on Saturday, India chief coach Craig Fulton put his players through a rigorous training session to iron out the chinks the neighbours had exposed. It may have been taxing ahead of the Asian Champions Trophy semifinal against South Korea , but it was much needed.
The hard yards paid off as the defending champions turned in a clinical performance en route to 4-1 victory and stormed into the final at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China.
On Tuesday, India will take on hosts China, who entered their maiden ACT final with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Pakistan via a shoot-out. The teams were locked 1-1 after regulation time play. Throughout the tournament, the highlight of India's performance has been aggressive attacks. Monday was no different. Right from the start whistle, India were on the ball and the pressure was on the Koreans.
Two good scoring opportunities went abegging in those initial minutes. A shot at goal by Abhishek in the fourth minute was thwarted by goalkeeper Jaehan Kim. Almost immediately, Uttam Singh showcased fine dribbling skills while charging into the circle on the baseline, but Mohd Raheel's attempt to tap the ball in was blocked by Kim.
Having unsettled the Korean defence, India continued to attack in waves. The holders eventually went ahead in the 13th minute when Uttam relayed a deft pass to Araijeet Singh Hundal on the base line. The striker swiftly moved in to find Uttam prowling next to the goalpost. It was a simple tap-in.
The reverse galvanised the Koreans, and they earned a couple of penalty corners. Unfortunately, they couldn't convert any. At the other end, skipper Harmanpreet appeared to relish taking aim with penalty corners as he doubled the lead in the 19th minute.
Korea were all at sea as the Indians, falling back to defend, kept them at bay. On the left, Uttam muffed a good chance of stretching the lead and in the dying moments of the second quarter, Suraj Karkera did well to block a hit from Kong Yoon-ho, who had a free run into the circle.
India resumed the second half with a high-press and found the third goal in the 32nd minute when Jarmanpreet Singh brilliantly collected an aerial pass from Sumit and slapped it hard into the goal. A minute later, the Indian goalkeeper's momentary error in judgment allowed Korea to pull one back with Yang Ji-hun's speedy drag flick hitting the keeper's left pad before crashing into the goal.
Although rare, India did have their moments of shoddy play with Sukhjeet Singh missing a sitter and Rajkumar Pal failing to break through the fumbling Korean defence. With seconds left on the clock in the third quarter, Korea were dealt a blow when goalkeeper Kim was handed a yellow card for dangerous play outside the circle. Of the resultant penalty corner, Daewon Oh, who replaced Kim in goal, could do little to stop Harmanpreet from rattling the boards.
The fourth quarter was all about India getting into scoring positions but failing to execute, although Korea did defend well to ensure the rout didn't turn into an embarrassment.
Less than 24 hours after scraping past Pakistan (2-1) in their last league engagement on Saturday, India chief coach Craig Fulton put his players through a rigorous training session to iron out the chinks the neighbours had exposed. It may have been taxing ahead of the Asian Champions Trophy semifinal against South Korea , but it was much needed.
The hard yards paid off as the defending champions turned in a clinical performance en route to 4-1 victory and stormed into the final at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China.
On Tuesday, India will take on hosts China, who entered their maiden ACT final with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Pakistan via a shoot-out. The teams were locked 1-1 after regulation time play. Throughout the tournament, the highlight of India's performance has been aggressive attacks. Monday was no different. Right from the start whistle, India were on the ball and the pressure was on the Koreans.
Two good scoring opportunities went abegging in those initial minutes. A shot at goal by Abhishek in the fourth minute was thwarted by goalkeeper Jaehan Kim. Almost immediately, Uttam Singh showcased fine dribbling skills while charging into the circle on the baseline, but Mohd Raheel's attempt to tap the ball in was blocked by Kim.
Having unsettled the Korean defence, India continued to attack in waves. The holders eventually went ahead in the 13th minute when Uttam relayed a deft pass to Araijeet Singh Hundal on the base line. The striker swiftly moved in to find Uttam prowling next to the goalpost. It was a simple tap-in.
The reverse galvanised the Koreans, and they earned a couple of penalty corners. Unfortunately, they couldn't convert any. At the other end, skipper Harmanpreet appeared to relish taking aim with penalty corners as he doubled the lead in the 19th minute.
Korea were all at sea as the Indians, falling back to defend, kept them at bay. On the left, Uttam muffed a good chance of stretching the lead and in the dying moments of the second quarter, Suraj Karkera did well to block a hit from Kong Yoon-ho, who had a free run into the circle.
India resumed the second half with a high-press and found the third goal in the 32nd minute when Jarmanpreet Singh brilliantly collected an aerial pass from Sumit and slapped it hard into the goal. A minute later, the Indian goalkeeper's momentary error in judgment allowed Korea to pull one back with Yang Ji-hun's speedy drag flick hitting the keeper's left pad before crashing into the goal.
Although rare, India did have their moments of shoddy play with Sukhjeet Singh missing a sitter and Rajkumar Pal failing to break through the fumbling Korean defence. With seconds left on the clock in the third quarter, Korea were dealt a blow when goalkeeper Kim was handed a yellow card for dangerous play outside the circle. Of the resultant penalty corner, Daewon Oh, who replaced Kim in goal, could do little to stop Harmanpreet from rattling the boards.
The fourth quarter was all about India getting into scoring positions but failing to execute, although Korea did defend well to ensure the rout didn't turn into an embarrassment.
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