Full-time! Riding on Gurjant Singh’s 60th-minute goal, India managed to salvage a 1-1 draw against Korea in their first Super 4s match of the Asia Cup hockey tournament in Dhaka on Wednesday.
FT! Gurjant Singh’s late equaliser helps India secure a draw in their opening Super 4s game at the #HeroAsiaCup 2017 (Men) on 18th Oct. pic.twitter.com/ZV8xyAnOdK
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 18, 2017
GOAL! In the dying minutes of the game, Gurjant Singh scored a remarkable field goal in the 60th minute to help India level the score.
60′ GOALLL! Gurjant Singh does it for India with great Field Goal to level the scores in the final minute.
🇮🇳1⃣-1⃣🇰🇷#INDvKOR #HeroAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/sof2Yl5soZ— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 18, 2017
End of third quarter
End of Q3: 🇮🇳0⃣-1⃣🇰🇷.
It’s Korea in the lead with 15 minutes on the clock. What will be India’s response?#INDvKOR #HeroAsiaCup— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 18, 2017
Thanks to an astonishing field goal by Jungjun Lee, Korea broke the deadlocks in the 41st over. India desperately seek an equaliser.
GOAL! Jungjun Lee earns breakthrough for Korea. Resilient Korea manage to beat Indian defence to take 1-0 lead in the 41st over.
41′ Goal for Korea. Jungjun Lee scores the first goal of the game to earn a crucial lead for his team.
🇮🇳0⃣-1⃣🇰🇷.#INDvKOR #HeroAsiaCup— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 18, 2017
Half-time: India, South Korea eye breakthrough
HT! A neck-to-neck encounter so far as both teams are yet to break the shackles.#INDvKOR #HeroAsiaCup pic.twitter.com/HMcD6pUx7t
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 18, 2017
Halfway into Q2 as both defences are denying either team to score the opening goal.
🇮🇳0⃣-0⃣🇰🇷#INDvKOR #HeroAsiaCup— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 18, 2017
India played aggressively in the first half but Korea’s defence was strong enough to stop them. The second quarter ended and the scoreline still reads 0-0. Both the teams eye a desperate goal.
End of first quarter
End of Q1: 🇮🇳0⃣-0⃣🇰🇷.
Both teams push hard for the opening goal in this crucial Super 4s tie. But who will strike 1st?#INDvKOR #HeroAsiaCup— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 18, 2017
Despite many attempts, neither of the two teams managed to score a single goal in the first quarter. India earned a penalty corner in the 15th minute though failed to convert it into a goal.
India’s starting XI against Korea
Glance through Team India’s lineup against Korea in the #HeroAsiaCup 2017 (Men) on 18th Oct.
📺: Star Sports First/2/HD2 & Hotstar pic.twitter.com/ftM3nkUNTs— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 18, 2017
Under the captaincy of Manpreet Singh, Indian hockey team is set to take on Korea in a Super 4s match of the Asia Cup hockey tournament, underway in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Read Match Preview: Indian hockey team faces South Korea in Super 4s
“It will be an interesting match. We need to be patient and have good control. It’s important for us to focus on our own structure. They are good in counter and we need to be aware of that when we play against them,” India’s hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne said on the eve of the match.
In group stage matches, India have registered convincing wins against Japan (5-1), Bangladesh (7-0) and Pakistan (3-1).
South Korea, on the other end, suffered one loss against Malaysia but won other two matches against China and Oman to enter the Super 4s.
Korea are fighting a battle of their own as they carry a huge pressure on them for qualifying for the 2018 FIH World Cup.