Hulunbuir (China)
The in-form Paris Olympics bronze medallist Indian team will be a strong contender against Korea in the semi-final of the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) hockey tournament here on Monday. India have not lost a single match in the tournament so far, winning all five league matches. The Harmanpreet Singh-led team started their campaign with a 3-0 win over hosts China. After this, they defeated Japan 5-1 and Malaysia 8-1. After defeating Korea 3-1, the Indian team won 2-1 over arch-rivals Pakistan.
The performance of the Indian team has been excellent. The players have shown excellent performance in every department, be it the forward line or midfield or defence. The performance of the strikers for India in the league stage has been amazing.
Scoring field goals was a matter of concern for India in Paris but here the young strikers like Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Uttam Singh, Gurjot Singh, Arijit Singh Hundal and others have performed better than expected. Young midfielder Raj Kumar Pal also scored some good field goals. Apart from this, experienced Manpreet Singh, vice captain Vivek Sagar Prasad and Neelkant Sharma have performed well in midfield.
The Indian defense has also been strong, conceding only four goals. Goalkeepers Krishna Bahadur Pathak and Suraj Karkera did not let the team feel the void created by the retirement of the charismatic PR Sreejesh. Harmanpreet, one of the best dragflickers in the world, continued her good form in Paris and converted five penalty corners into goals. Harmanpreet is getting good support from young Jugraj Singh, who is currently the fastest dragflicker in the world.
But as a knockout match is a new beginning for any team, India could not make the mistake of taking Korea lightly because if the opponent team has a good day, it can spring a surprise. India equalised in the last minute against Malaysia for a 3-3 draw to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
The Indian defence will also have to be cautious about not conceding too many penalty corners as Korea has a strong dragflicker in Jihun Yang, the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals. Pakistan will face hosts China in the other semi-final of the day. The final is scheduled for Tuesday.
