Asian Champions Trophy hockey: Harmanpreet’s brace helps India beat gritty Korea in first proper test of tournament

In a tournament where they have been dominant from the beginning, the Indian men’s hockey team made it four wins out of four after overcoming Korea’s challenge in Moqi, China on Thursday with second goalkeeper Suraj Karkera being named Player of the Match.

It was a decision that highlighted two aspects of the match. That the rampant Indian forward line-up, that had been banging in goals for fun in the previous matches, was kept relatively quiet. And also that the relatively untested defensive unit had to be on its toes to keep India’s perfect run intact.

Ultimately, 3-1 represented a relatively convincing win for Craig Fulton’s side as they reached the semifinals along with Pakistan. Harmanpreet Singh (9th and 43rd minutes) scored twice after Araijeet Singh Hundal (8’) had given the defending champions an early lead. For Korea, the tournament’s leading goalscorer Yang Jihun made it 1-2 at the stroke of half-time.

He strikes 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍 🔥

Araijeet Singh Hundal keeps his scoring streak alive, pushing India ahead of South Korea 🇮🇳💪#SonySportsNetwork #ACT2024 #HockeyIndia | @thehockeyindia pic.twitter.com/P4nB79hpoH

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 12, 2024

Korea did ensure that India got their first real test of the tournament. In fact, while Suraj walked away with the prize for some sharp interventions in the second and third quarters, it was the other goalkeeper in the squad who arguably made the most crucial save of the game. Krishan Pathak – the chosen successor to PR Sreejesh as India’s No 1 – stood between the posts in the first and third quarters. And right at the start of the second half, from a silly penalty corner concession by Jarmanpreet Singh, Pathak had to put out his left leg for a reflex stop to keep India ahead.

The scoreboard read 2-1 in India’s favour at that point, with Korea halving the deficit right before half-time, thanks to Yang’s deflected drag flick that had flown past Suraj’s left shoulder. There was absolutely nothing the Indian goalkeeper could have done about that, but the goal resulted from India slacking off in possession, turning over the ball much too frequently than they have been recently. It was also a result of Korea holding their shape well while in defence, forcing India to look for long balls and angles where none existed.

Starting on the front foot

The start of the match, however, was blistering from India. The first goal was a fine finish on the half-turn by Hundal, the tall young forward making his mark once more in the tournament after being a close call to be on the flight to Paris. But the credit for that goal should also go to a brilliant combination of defence and offence by Vivek Sagar Prasad, who is having a fine tournament in midfield in the absence of regular vice- captain Hardik Singh. Vivek won the ball back high up the pitch and had a quick give-and-go with Sukhjeet Singh before setting up Hundal for the finish.

The second goal came just a minute later. Harmanpreet celebrated the first of his two goals by gesturing with a “2”, perhaps marking a milestone moment in his senior career of 200 international goals. For the record, FIH’s Data Hub had him on 195 goals before the match.

Either way, it was just another display of powerful drag-flicking from a man destined to be a modern hockey great for his goal-scoring prowess. It was his second goal in the third quarter that gave India some breathing space.

For a team that has been largely flawless so far, and already all but assured of a spot in the semifinals, perhaps there wasn’t enough incentive to go all out on Thursday. They could well face Korea again in the final (or who could rule out an India-Pakistan title clash at this stage?) so maybe it made sense to keep some cards close to their chest. On Saturday, Harmanpreet’s men will lock horns with Pakistan, who are also unbeaten so far in Moqi, and beat China 5-1 to join India in the semifinals.

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