Jakarta : Indian men’s hockey team claimed the bronze medal in the Hero Asia Cup 2022 after picking a 1-0 win over Japan at the GBK Sports Complex Hockey Stadium here on Wednesday.
In a tight contest that saw a solid defensive performance from the Indian Men’s Hockey team, Raj Kumar Pal (7′) scored the sole goal for India to help them pick a close win. India began the match cautiously, holding possession in the midfield. Karthi Selvam received a brilliant pass inside the circle, and he passed the ball to Vishnukant Singh, who was left unmarked. But the Japanese defence deflected the danger away.
An inspirational run from Uttam Singh on the right channel opened up Raj Kumar Pal inside the circle, and he put the ball into the goal to give India a 1-0 lead. India received back-to-back Penalty Corners before the end of the first quarter, but Japan defended well to clear the danger.
India immediately started stitching attacking moves in the second quarter, looking to quickly double their lead. Japan received back-to-back penalty corner opportunities as Indian defence faced their first real test in the match. But the first rusher Yashdeep Siwach denied Japan twice to keep the opposition at bay. Japan continued to search for the equaliser but the Indian defence stood tall and maintained their 1-0 lead till halftime.
India started creating attacking moves from the left flank at the start of the second half. Japanese captain Seren Tanaka tried to cross a dangerous ball inside the circle, but Dipsan Tirkey was alert and quickly cleared away the ball. Japan received another PC opportunity to get back on level terms, but Indian defence made a good save to deny the opposition yet again. Another late PC for Japan tested Indian defence once again, but India yet again managed to hold on to their lead.
Japan earned yet another PC opportunity at the start of the final quarter, but it was blocked away by Manjeet. Uttam Singh received a stunning pass from Abharan Sudev and he ran inside the circle to go one-on-one with the Japanese goalkeeper.
But goalkeeper Takashi Yoshikawa managed to dispossess Uttam Singh and made the save. Maninder Singh stitched a last-string attach in the final minute, but Japanese defence dispossessed him. But they were unable to get the equaliser in the last 30 seconds and India picked up a 1-0 win.
Earlier, Korea dashed Malaysia’s hopes of a maiden Hero Asia Cup trophy as they reigned supreme with a thrilling 2-1 final victory here at the GBK Sports Arena on Wednesday. This is the fifth time the Korean side have lifted the prestigious trophy. They have won the title in 1994, 1999, 2009 and 2013.
Having won the Hero Asian Champions Trophy in December last year, Korea looked like a confident bunch going into the final, a place they earned by pipping India in a 3-3 draw on Tuesday. The team, with experienced players, recovered well in time to put up a grand fight against the Malaysian unit who looked poised to win the title race, not having lost a single match in the tournament.
After a goalless first quarter, Korea put Malaysia under the pump with a splendid field goal in the 17th minute. The 1-0 lead certainly put pressure on Malaysia who struggled to find their zing in converting chances. They managed an equalizer in the 25th minute through Syed Cholan that brought some respite in the Malaysian dug out but Korea, who had draw against India 4-4 in a high scoring match, worked their strategy to continue to put pressure on the Malaysian defence.
Though the third quarter went goalless, the Korea team’s turning point of the match came in the 52nd minute when they scored a quickfire field goal off a fantastic counter attack set up after Malaysia failed to convert back-to-back PCs. Malaysia created plenty of opportunities to score in the dying minutes of the match, one such opportunity came when Faizal Saari took a shot on goal but Korean goalkeeper was on target to make a fine save.
The Korean defence, one of the best in Asian hockey, lived up to the billing and defended the scoreline. Though they found an opportunity to extend the lead to 3-1 when they were awarded the penalty stroke, the chance went missing with Malaysian goalie stopping the attempt by Jang Jonghyun. Earlier in the day, Pakistan finish fifth in the tournament after 8-0 win against Bangladesh.