It was not the most consistent performance from the Indian men's hockey team, with the defence being found wanting on multiple occasions. But it was definitely the most resilient one in their Asian Games 2023 campaign so far, as India warded off the strong Korean challenge in the second half to beat them 5-3 in the semifinal and march on to the gold medal match. One big plus for India was five different goalscorers, and they would look to keep the team spirit going in the summit clash too, where they will take on the winner of the semifinal between China and Japan. Catch the highlights of the IND vs KOR, Asian Games hockey semi-final match here. (Match Report | Full Coverage | Streaming | Hockey News)
3:10pm: Recap
India started the match on a rousing note, going up 3-0 in the first quarter with goals from Hardik, Mandeep and Lalit. South Korea hit back hard in the second and third quarters with a hat-trick from Jung Majae. But India kept bouncing back and found two more goals via Amit Rohidas and Abhishek to emerge victorious.
3:02pm: Full-Time - IND 5-3 KOR
That's it. India win! The hooter rings out, and India proceed to the final on the back of an inconsistent but spirited performance against South Korea.
2:58pm: 4th Quarter - IND 5-3 KOR (58')
Korea have taken off their goalkeeper in the quest for goals. India look to run down the clock. Battle of attrition, with 2 minutes to go.
2:52pm: 4th Quarter - IND 5-3 KOR (54')
Abhishek scores! Mandeep with some wonderful stick skills traps an aerial ball on the run and dribbles forward, passing the ball forward and a surging Abhishek comes up with a rasping reverse hit to give India a 2-goal cushion.
2:46pm: 4th Quarter - IND 4-3 KOR (50')
India look quite tentative right now, making uncharacteristic mistakes with passes and traps. On top of that, they are down to 10 men with Jarmanporeet out with a green card foul.
2:39pm: 3rd Quarter - IND 4-3 KOR
The third quarter ends. India need to pull up their socks defensively to stop Korea from equalizing.
2:35pm: 3rd Quarter - IND 4-3 KOR (42')
Korea score! Jung Majae gets a hat-trick! India loose with their defence on a PC as they are not ready in time, and the rushers fail to reach the Korean attack on time. An unmarked Majae pushes the ball in. He has single-handedly kept Korea in the game.
2:30pm: 3rd Quarter - IND 4-2 KOR (38')
No goals yet in the third quarter as Korea start aggressively but subside soon, resorting to a half-court press. India still looking to score more goals to seal the issue.
2:12pm: 2nd Quarter - IND 4-2 KOR
Second quarter ends and India come away with a two-goal lead at half-time. Varun twisted his ankle during the quarter and had to walk off the field. India would be hoping their defender's injury is not serious.
2:04pm: 2nd Quarter - IND 4-2 KOR (24')
Amit Rohidas scores! India convert a PC to come roaring back. Hardik injects, and with skipper Harmanpreet not on the pitch, Amit steps up and drills it in low past the Korean goalkeeper.
1:58pm: 2nd Quarter - IND 3-2 KOR (20')
Korea score again! Jung Majae with his second. Korea have swung the momentum all of a sudden. Majae makes the most of an opportune long pass and simply deflects it goalward, and the Indian defence is caught napping.
1:51pm: 2nd Quarter - IND 3-1 KOR (17')
Korea score! The experienced Jang Jonghyun uses a smart variation instead of his drag-flick to a penalty corner injection, and Jung Manjae sends it in.
1:46pm: 1st Quarter - IND 3-0 KOR (15')
Lalit Upadhyay scores! India score on the stroke of the first quarter hooter. Harmanpreet send a tomahawk into the D, where Sukhjeet mishits it on first attempt amid the melee. But an alert Lalit is ready at the far post to slot it in, right as the clock runs out. India triple their lead.
1:42pm: 1st Quarter - IND 2-0 KOR (11')
Mandeep Singh scores! India come up with a delightful team goal. India press forward and surge into the circle, where Gurjant gets the ball and instead of taking a shot himself, passes it selflessly to Mandeep at the far post, who completes the easy tap in. India on song.
1:35pm: 1st Quarter - IND 1-0 KOR (5')
Hardik Singh scores! India build up a move and crowd the Korean D. The ball is sent goalward and the parry lands in front of Hardik, who comes up with a superb strike to put India ahead.
1:31pm: 1st Quarter - IND 0-0 KOR (2')
The match begins. Both teams currently settling in their structures. No big offensive moves yet.
1:05pm: Line-up
Here's the Indian team's line-up for the match:
10:50am: Preview
Untested so far, India will take on South Korea in the first semi-final of the 2023 Asian Games, men's hockey competition today in Hangzhou, China. The Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian men's national hockey team enjoyed scintillating pool (A) outings, winning all their five matches with a humongous goal difference of plus 53 (58 scored, five conceded). South Korean men's national team, on the other hand, finished second in Pool B behind China with four wins in five outings. But the Koreans were the most prolific scorer in their section, sounding the board 42 times for a goal difference of plus 34. Considering the attacking prowess in the respective camps, this clash of heavyweights is expected to be a thriller.
India, the original powerhouse of world hockey (or field hockey), last stood on the podium in 2002 -- collecting silver medal following a 4-3 defeat against the Koreans, who escaped with a 68th-minute winner in the intense Busan final. So far, Indian men have collected 15 medals -- three gold, nine silver and three bronze. They last won the Asian Games gold in 2014 in Incheon.
In this edition, the Indian national hockey team are certainly the team to beat. In their campaign opener, they blanked Uzbekistan 16-0. It was followed by 16-1 and 4-2 wins over Singapore and Japan, respectively. In the blockbuster clash against Pakistan, India recorded an emphatic 10-2 victory, their biggest win against the arch-rivals. India ended their pool engagements with a 12-0 win over Bangladesh. Skipper Harmanpreet and Mandeep Singh have so far scored 11 goals each.
South Korea also started their campaign in an equally emphatic style, beating Indonesia and Thailand by identical scores of 10-0s. But the four-time Asian Games gold medallists suffered a shock 3-2 defeat against hosts China, which ultimately proved detrimental to their bid to win Pool B. Koreans survived a scare against Malaysia (4-3) and then hammered Oman 16-2. Jang Jong-Hyun, with 17 goals, is the leading scorer in the competition.
10:20am: India vs South Korea, hockey head-to-head
India and South Korea met in a competitive tournament/event for the first time at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which India won by India 3-1. The two teams, according to FIH, have met 29 times so far with India leading the head-to-head record 12-11 including penalty shootouts in all competitions.
The last time these two Asian giants went head-to-head, at the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy, India beat South Korea 3-2 in a pool match. In the last five meetings, India have lost once, in the final of the 2019 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
In the second semi-final, China will face Japan. The gold medal winners at the Asian Games 2023 will seal their berths at the Paris Olympic Games 2024. The teams classifying from 2nd to 6th will get a second opportunity to qualify for the Olympics, at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers 2024.
10am: Squads
India: Krishan Bahadur Pathak (goalkeeper), PR Sreejesh (goalkeeper), Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Varun Kumar, Hardik Singh (vice-captain), Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Akashdeep Singh, S Karthi, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Pawan, Mandeep Singh
South Korea: Kim Jaehyeon (goalkeeper), Kang Youngbin (goalkeeper), Lee Nam Yong (captain), Jung Manjae, Son Dain, Kim JungHoo, Hwang Taeil, Lee Jungjun, Ji Woo Cheon, Park Cheoleon, Lee Hyeseung, Kim Sunghyun, Jeong Junwoo, Lee Seunghoon, Kim Hyeongjin, Jang Jonghyun, Lee Juyoung, Yang Jihun.
