Abhishek Mishra in Rajgir
Hosts India remain unbeaten at the hockey Asia Cup 2025. With a scoreline of 2-2 India vs South Korea match ended in a draw. For India, Hardik Singh opened the scoring in the first quarter and in the final quarter, Mandeep Singh netted the equaliser. For Malaysia Jihun Yang and Hyeonhong Kim scored. The result reminded the previous face-off between India and South Korea in the last Asia Cup that resulted in a draw with a 4-4 scoreline.
When the Indian team stepped onto the turf to face South Korea, the atmosphere at the Rajgir Sports Complex turned cooler and gloomy but excitement ran high in the stands. Just minutes before the start of the match, a downpour delayed the proceedings.
The game started after a delay of almost an hour and then it saw India winning three back-to-back penalty corners and failing to find the net. In the eighth minute, Hardik dribbled past the Korean defence and netted a beautiful solo goal, helping India open the account.
Within four minutes Korea were awarded a penalty stroke after a foul and Jihun Yang equalised. South Korea scored another goal after a minute with Kim Hyeonhong converting the penalty corner.
The second quarter saw no goals. India penetrated the circle multiple times but Korea defended the lead successfully and kept India under pressure which was also helped by a few unforced errors done by the hosts.
The scoreline remained unchanged in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, India equalised with eight minutes remaining. Mandeep scored the goal to make it 2-2.
Reflecting on India’s performance, coach Craig Fulton said: “We tried hard enough to win the game, but it wasn’t to be. We really played well in the fourth quarter.” When asked about the upcoming matches against Malaysia and China, he said: “One game at a time and we need to be more proactive.”
Up next, India take on Malaysia on Thursday in a virtual must-win game. Malaysia will come with confidence after defeating China 2-0 in the opening Super-4 match.
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