Uttam Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Jarmanpreet Singh netted the goals as India comfortably beat South Korea 4-1 in the second semi-final of the Asian Champions Trophy, on Monday, at the Moqi Hockey Training Base, in Hulunbuir, China. India will take on China in the summit clash, on September 17.
Right from the first minute of the first quarter, India looked busy and made enough penetrations into the opponent’s ‘D’. In the 4th minute itself, Abhishek Nain almost scored, but Kim Jaehan, the goalkeeper, used his right-hand and then blocked the attempted shot with his stick. India were soon rewarded for their persistent efforts, with Uttam Singh opening the account.
It was good team-work that helped India find the back of the net. Nilakanta Sharma passed it to Manpreet Singh, who in turn passed it to Raj Kumar Pal, and then it went to Araijeet Singh, with Uttam providing the finishing touches.
In the second quarter, India took a 2-0 lead via Harmanpreet Singh, India’s captain and ace drag-flicker, netting one through a penalty corner opportunity. At the completion of the second quarter, one could gauge the difference between the two teams through some number-crunching. India led South Korea in terms of possession — 61 per cent to 39 percent. India also had more circle entries — 15 to 10.
Even in the third quarter, India looked switched on from the start. In the 32nd minute, Jarmanpreet Singh made it 3-0. He cleanly intercepted an aerial ball from Sumit Walmiki. Subsequently, he beat Cheon Min Su and the goalkeeper.
Although Korea soon reduced the margin, with Yang Jihun converting a penalty corner opportunity, it just seemed like too little too late. Harmanpreet netted one more goal to power India to a 4-1 lead. The score remained that way when the final whistle was blown. Jarmanpreet was perhaps the star of the day for India. Raj Kumar combined well with Uttam as did Sukhjeet Singh with Abhishek.
There has been no easing off after the bronze medal win at the #paris2024olympics. Indian hockey shows the same passion and zest to perform in the #AsianChampionsTrophy with #HarmanpreetSingh and goalkeeper Pathak catching the eye@kannandelhi https://t.co/2t3MiLfpLo
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) September 16, 2024
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