Reportedly, India did their best in the 2nd half but failed to make a direct entry in next year's hockey World Cup as they lost the high-scoring summit clash by 4-3 to defending champions South Korea in Asia Cup hockey final, at Ipoh in Malaysia on Sunday.
The Indian hockey team, who were virtually assured of a place in the game's attractive event scheduled to be held at The Hague in Netherlands, required winning the eight-nation tournament to make a direct entry in the World Cup.
On the other side, Korea's fourth title victory implies Malaysia is sure to return to the World Cup after a time gap of 12 years.
Meanwhile, the Indians will have to wait till the conclusion of the Oceania Cup in November, which either Australia or New Zealand is anticipated to win, for the official confirmation of their participation from the FIH. In fact, both Australia and New Zealand have already made it to the World Cup through FIH World League.
Actually, the Koreans scored through Jang Jong Hyun in the 28th minute, You Hyo Sik in the 29th, Nam Hyun Woo in the 57th while Kang Moon Kweon in the 68th. On the other hand, India scored through Rupinderpal Singh in the 48th minute, Nikkin Thimmaiah in the 57th while Mandeep Singh in the 64th. Apparently, it was a case of near yet so far for the Indians who did a marvelous job in the second half, after entering the breather trailing by two goals. However, the Indians in the end fell short as Korea edged out a hard-fought win and got their revenge over the Sardar Singh-led team too against whom they lost by 2-0 in the group stages.
At the end, it was a grand show by a young and inexperienced Indian team keeping in mind that the country finished a lowly seventh in the last edition of the event in 2009. In fact, it was a head-on contest between the apex two teams of Asia as both India and Korea matched each other cut to cut.
Remarkably, the Indians commenced the match on a bright note and ruled the early share of exchanges. In addition, India made some good moves from the right flank but the forwards fizzled following entering the rival circle.
It cannot be ignored that Korea's game was all about pushing the Indian defense under pressure through counter-attacks. The Indian defense was put to test to the core by the brisk, nimble-footed Korean team from the beginning as goalkeeper PR Sreejesh made a brave double save in the 21st minute to restore a clean slate. Shortly, India had their first scoring chance through their first penalty corner but VR Raghunath's shot was blocked by a Korean defender. Nithin Thimmaiah had an excellent chance of giving India the lead in the 26th minute but his reverse strike from close range went wide. Further, Korea earned their first penalty corner as tournament's top-scorer Jang Jong Hyun unmistakably, converted the set piece with a variation.
After a minute, Korea shocked India again when You Hyo Sik tapped home from Nam Hyun Woo's cross from the left flank to earn a 2-0 lead. The Indians returned following the lemon break and placed the Korean defense under continuous stress with repeated attacks. However, goals evaded India up to the 47th minute as Korea defended in numbers. Moreover, India pulled one back in the 48th minute from their 2nd penalty corner which was ideally converted by Rupinder to make the Indian crowd happy who were present at the stadium. Anyway, the goal lifted India's spirit as they continued with persistent attacks and ultimately managed to reduce parity through Nikkin Thimmaiah. He scored in the 57h minute with a violent reverse hit from top of the circle following receiving a pass from Manpreet Singh. However, Korea regained their lead three minutes later. Then the Koreans were awarded with a penalty stroke after an Indian defender barred Nam Hyun Woo's dragflick with the body from their third short corner. Next, Nam Hyn Woo advanced to take the penalty and calmly foxed Sreejesh under the Indian goal to make the scoreline as 3-2 in their favor. Thereafter, the Indian pressed hard for the equalizer and after seven minutes got a great opportunity but an unmarked Ramandeep Singh paused as he struck the ball over the Korean goalkeeper Lee Myung Ho to beat.
Young striker Mandeep found himself at the correct position in the 64th minute to send the ball inside the net from a Birendra Lakra cross. After two minutes from the hooter, some careless defending from Dharamvir Singh and Rupinder ended up in Korea's third penalty corner while Kang Moon Kweon unmistakably got the chance to shatter the hopes of handful of Indian supporters present at the stadium. Besides the runners-up trophy, India's PR Sreejesh was adjudged to be the best goalkeeper of the tournament, while V R Raghunath was chosen as the most stupendous player.
