India to Clash with South Korea (file photo)
Just a day after Malaysia's Razie Rahim scored a hat-trick in a thrilling contest that ended in a draw, defending champions India would look for a win against South Korea to proceed into the finals of the Asia Cup men's hockey tournament.
As India head into their final Super 4 game, they would like to spin their heads around different combinations and all the positives that helped them defeat Japan by a bare margin of 2-1. As of now, South Korea with a goal difference of +2 (5-3) are placed on top. Team India on the other hand with (GD) of +1 (5-4) are placed second.
The boys in blue outdid their critics by beating host nation Indonesia 16-0 in the last pool match which earned them a spot in the Super 4 round of the tournament. The Japanese team who defeated India 2-5 in the preliminary stages, came down crashing in the Super 4 round where Indian handed them a loss of 2-1.
As the stake of retaining the championship runs high, the onus of creating history lies on the impressive forward line which includes the likes of Uttam Singh, SV Sunil, and Pawan Rajbhar. It may sound hunky-dory at the moment, but defeating South Korea is no easy job. The Koreans have earned themselves a reputation for brisk counterattacks and India will have to play out of their skin on Tuesday to claim their berth for the final.
On the other hand, Japan who are out of the contest are all set to clash against Malaysia who still have a glimmer of hope for qualifications if they can beat Japan by a bare minimum of 2 goals.
(Inputs from PTI)
