Defending champions India humbled Korea 4-1 in the second semifinal on Monday to reach the record-extending sixth final and will now face hosts China for the ultimate silverware on Tuesday. With that win, India also extended their unbeaten streak in the tournament, being played at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China.

Uttam Singh (13’) gave India the lead in the first quarter, followed by goals from Harmanpreet Singh (19’, 45+’) and Jarmanpreet Singh (32’). Jihun Yang (33’) scored the only goal for Korea.

India began the crucial semi-final on the front foot, with Abhishek forcing a save from Korea’s goalkeeper, Jaehan Kim, on the reverse, in the opening minutes. Uttam kept the pressure on with a bursting run down the right wing and found Raheel, whose close-range shot was saved. While the Indian defence smothered the occasional Korean counterattack, the forwards finally broke through as Araijeet Singh smashed the ball across the goal from the right wing for Uttam to tap in, making it 1-0 for India in the first quarter.

India earned their first penalty corner early in the second quarter, and on the second attempt, Harmanpreet struck the backboard to double India’s lead. Korea responded by holding onto possession and probing down the wings in search of an opening, but India fell back and defended in numbers. When in possession, India continued to create circle entries and posed a constant scoring threat. Towards the end of the second quarter, Korea pushed India back, and Yoonho Kong wrong-footed Gurjot Singh in the circle, forcing a mid-range save from Suraj Karkera.

Sukhjeet ensured India kept the pressure on with a deep foray into Korea’s shooting circle but couldn’t find a teammate. In the very next play, Jarmanpreet pulled an aerial pass from Sumit on the opposite flank out of the air and smacked it towards goal, where it deflected in, further increasing India’s lead. Korea responded by earning a penalty corner, and Jihun Yang flicked it down the middle to beat Krishan Pathak, providing a ray of hope for Korea as the scoreline read 3-1 in India’s favour.

Both teams created goalscoring opportunities as the third quarter drew to a close, but an error from Korea’s goalkeeper Jaehan Kim gifted India a penalty corner with just a second left. Harmanpreet flicked the ball hard and low to the new keeper Daewon Oh’s right, making it 4-1 in India’s favour.

India continued their dominance in the last quarter with Abhishek and Araijeet forcing saves from the keeper. However, Korea earned a penalty corner with 8 minutes left in the game but Hyeonhong Kim’s effort sailed wide of the post. India controlled the proceedings for the rest of the quarter to seal their berth in the Final of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy with a 4-1 victory.

China stun Pakistan in other semifinal

In a mega upset, China stunned Pakistan 2-0 in the shootout to enter the final. This will be the first time in the history of the tournament that the Chinese national team has made it to the title round while the second highest number of title winners Pakistan will play for the bronze medal against South Korea.

The Chinese goalkeeper Caiyu Wang was outstanding in his efforts to keep a clean slate in the shootout, while, Benhai Chen and Chanliang Lin scored for China. Earlier in the match, Yuanlin Lu had given China an early 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.

The first semifinal of the day truly lived up to its billing with China posing a mega threat to Pakistan’s hopes of making the final right from the start. They were gritty in their pursuit, dominated the ball possession and created early chances. China was buoyed by the unprecedented support from the home crowd, who turned up in large numbers as it was a government holiday here for the Mooncake Festival which marks the post-autumn harvest celebrations across China.

After a 0-0 stalemate in the opening quarter, China scored in the 18th minute through Yuanlin Lu’s powerful dragflick to convert from the PC. The 1-0 lead for China put Pakistan on the backfoot. China also came up with brilliant defending in the second quarter to stop Pakistan from scoring a PC. They had created as many as five PCs this quarter but could not breach the Chinese defence.

Ahead of the start of the match, China Head Coach Jin Seung Yoo, who was a former player for Korea, said, “It’s an important game for us and we are totally charged up. This is the first time China is playing the semifinal of such a prestigious event in front of home crowd. Tahir Zaman, the Head Coach of Pakistan, and I have played quite a lot against each other (when Seung played for Korea) including the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Pakistan used to crush us (Korea) in the matches.”

Seung ensured this time, his team was not going to be crushed by Pakistan as they put up an inspired show. They punctured Pakistan’s attack and kept the pressure on through tactful defending. Though Pakistan mustered a goal in the 37th minute through Ahmed Nadeem, China ensured they didn’t concede another goal.

They played a disciplined game, tackled Pakistani attackers with strong man-to-man marking to ensure they didn’t create scoring opportunities. Though Pakistan made a handful of circle entries in the following minutes in the third and the fourth quarter, China restricted their shots on goal quite effectively to keep the scoreline at 1-1 stalemate.