It wasn’t their most convincing victory. Nonetheless, India put it past South Korea 3-2 in their fourth round robin match to maintain their winning run at the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Chennai on Monday.
Three wins and a draw have given India 10 points and a top position in the table. Importantly, they have already qualified for the semifinals.
India took the lead in the sixth minute through Nilakanta Sharma, who found the net after Sukhjeet, having received the ball from Sumit Shamsher Singh, jinked past two defenders and passed it to Sharma.
But in a see-saw match at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Korea equalised after just six minutes. Kim Sunghyun rifled the ball past Indian goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak, who was playing in his 100th international game.
Then Harmanpreet Singh scored off a penalty corner in the 23rd minute. He aimed his shot low to the right of the keeper.
Ten minutes later Mandeep Singh made it 3-1.
In the 58th minute Yang Jihun reduced the margin but India protected their slim lead till the hooter.
India now take on Pakistan in a much-awaited encounter on Wednesday.
A nervy Pakistan stayed in the hunt for a semifinal spot beating China 2-1, thanks to goals from Muhammad Khan and Afraz.
China are out of the running for a semis berth.
Pakistan coach Muhammad Saqlain admitted India were a strong side but said his team was playing well too.
"Harmanpreet Singh and other centre forwards are some of the best players in the world. We are aware of their weakness as well, but we have to be smart against them," Saqlain said.
"We have a day off, so we can focus three hours before the match. The way they played their last game (beating Malaysia 5-0) is a warning sign for everyone. Although we have a young side, they are capable of handling the pressure.”
Saqlain added, "We will need to teach our young lads who are playing here for the first time (about handling the crowd pressure). If you can close your ears and focus on the game, we surely can play good hockey. Also, if both the teams play good hockey, it would be a great achievement for Asian hockey.”
