Abhishek Mishra
Craig Fulton and his men are all set for the summit clash, a match that not only decides the Asian dominance but also secures India’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup. They will face defending champions South Korea in the final in Rajgir, Bihar.
This will be the fourth time India and Korea will meet in an Asia Cup final, after previous encounters in 1994, 2007 and 2013. Korea had the upper hand in 1994 and 2013, while India triumphed in the 2007 final. Overall, India have reached seven Asia Cup finals, winning three of them, whereas Korea have won five titles from six final appearances.
India’s campaign began on August 29 with a hard fought opener against China, where the hosts edged out a 4-3 win. All goals came from penalty corners, which captain Harmanpreet Singh netting a brilliant hat-trick. Next, India faced Japan in another close contest, following a similar pattern Harmanpreet scored from penalty corners and the hosts clinched a 3-2 victory. In their final group-stage match against a lower ranked opponent, the Indian team went all out, storming to a thumping 15-0 win.
The next challenge was the Super-4 stage, where India faced defending South Korea in the opening game. Despite penetrating the opposition’s circle nearly 20 times, the Indian attack struggled to capitalise on their chances and the match ended in a 2-2 draw which raised several questions. In their second encounter against Malaysia, the hosts came out charged up and dismantled the opposition defence with a commanding 4-1 win and asserting their dominance. In the final match of the Super-4 stage against China, the hosts produced a dominant performance, securing a 7-0 victory.
India’s penalty-corner conversion has been a mixed bag. In the first two group stage matches, the hosts converted six out of 14, with Harmanpreet scoring five of them. But the performance dipped afterwards and India converted only seven more PCs. Overall, they have managed just 13 conversions out of 42 penalty corners, a conversion rate of only 30%.
For India, both Harmanpreet and Abhishek Nain have scored six goals each. The team has shown remarkable improvement in both defence and attack in the last two encounters. Against China in the last match, six different players found the net, and against Malaysia all four goals came from field play, scored by four different players.
Tonight, the challenge for the hosts will be to maintain the same rhythm. The Asia Cup title have eluded for eight years.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news