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Resilient India edge past Korea, stay in medal hunt
LONDON: India muffed chances galore before a deft deflection from Nikkin Thimmaiah enabled them to pip South Korea 2-1 in the 36th Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament
LONDON: India muffed chances galore before a deft deflection from Nikkin Thimmaiah enabled them to pip South Korea 2-1 in the 36th Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament here.
At the Lee Valley Hockey Centre, India’s domination earned them the lead through day’s captain SV Sunil’s 39th minute goal.
South Korea equalised through brisk counter in the 57th minute, only for Thimmaiah to reclaim the lead within 30 seconds with a fine deflection on Talwinder Singh’s diagonal cross from left.
The narrow victory ensured India stayed in the hunt for a medal in the Champions Trophy. India now have seven points from four matches going into the last league fixture against World champions Australia on Thursday.
India enjoyed territorial dominance from the beginning and broke into the rival circle on several occasions, but were not smart on the final pass and allowed the Korean custodian to breathe easy.
India’s first foray into the Korean circle was in the 11th minute after Mandeep Singh snatched the ball from a defender on the right flank and sprinted into the circle.
He wasted the opportunity by not squaring the ball to Talwinder Singh and instead tried to himself move up further, thereby narrowing the angle and feebly pushing straight into the goalkeeper’s pads.
Two minutes later, the Korean striker Lee Nam-yong received a long aerial ball on deep in the Indian right wing, but was crowded out of possession by the defenders.
India’s raids finally produced a goal in the 39th through Sunil, who exchanged passes with Akashdeep Singh and then side-stepped the onrushing goalkeeper to push the ball into an open goal.