India Beat Korea: Harmanpreet Singh and Co. storm into yet another final of the Asian Champions Trophy as India beat Korea 4-1 in the semi-final on Monday. The defending champions are set to defend their title against hotss China in the final, witht he latter upsetting Pakistan in the other semi-final to make into their first-ever Asian Champions Trophy final.
The fight for the hockey supremacy in Asia will take place on Tuesday, September 17, as India eye back-to-back titles, whereas, the home crowd will be behind China, who will be looking to pull off one of the geatest upsets in the history of sport.
India Vs Korea Asian Champions Trophy 2024 Semi-Final | As It Happened
India and Korea made an aggressive start to the match, as both sides showed positive intent up front to break the deadlock. After a series of attacks during the Quarter 1, it was India who took the lead via Uttam Singh's goal in the last minutes, as he and Rajkumar combined well to get that all-important first goal.
Quarter 2 too, began on a positive note for the Indian side, as captain Harmanpreet Singh scored from the penalty corner, as his drag flick shot ended into the right corner, and Craig Fulton's men were looking over the hills and far away.
At the end of half-time, India led 2-0 and looked comfortable out there in the middle, as they dominated Korea on all fronts.
Merely 2 minutes into the second-half, India made it 3-0, as a beautiful goal from Jarmanpreet Singh from the right side solidified India's position in the match, but only two after the goal, they conceded an easy goal, as Yang Jihun of Korea scored from the penalty corner to make it 3-1.
In the dying minutes of Quarter 3, Indian skipper Harmanpreet Singh made it 4-1 as he bagged his second goal of the evening and India walked into the last quarter with a 3-goal lead.