Hangzhou: The India hockey men's team have advanced to the finals of the Asian Games after defeating four-time champion South Korea with the scoreline 5-3.
India kicked off the contest in style as Hardik Singh ensured an early lead for his team with a vicious strike inside the circle. A defender on the line tried to block it but he failed to prevent the ball from getting inside the goalpost. India further got some confidence from their early lead and dominated completely in the first quarter.
Mandeep Singh made the scoreline 2-0 with a brilliant goal while Lalit Kumar Upadhyay extended it to 3-0 with a tap-in in the closing moments. Along with their continuous attack, India was also strong in defence clearing most of the balls entering inside the circle. Thus, India was in a comfortable position by the end of half-time.
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Manjae Jung was the player, who ignited hopes for the South Korean side as he struck a couple of goals to make the scoreline 3-2 in the third quarter. However, Amit Rohidas was quick to convert a penalty corner giving India a cushion of two goals. The Indian side had another chance through a penalty corner but they missed it.
Manjae Jung further added to his goal tally and scored a hattrick in the game. The contest went down the wire as the scoreline was 4-3. However, India held on to their defense and Abhishek added one more goal to the scoreline handing the Harmanpreet Singh-led team a 5-3 win and a place in the gold medal match.
Also, India, will have a chance to book a Paris Olympics berth with a win in the gold medal match.
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