Rajgir, Sep 3 (IANS) The victory march of the Indian men’s hockey team in the Men’s Asia Cup Rajgir 2025 was halted on Wednesday as Korea held them to a 2-2 draw in their opening Super 4s game. Hardik Singh (8′) and Mandeep Singh (53′) were the goal scorers for India, while Jihun Yang (12′) and Hyeon Hong Kim (14′) scored for Korea as India had to settle for one point after topping the league table with three wins in as many matches.

Wednesday’s clash began after a slight delay due to rain as India made a bright start in the wet conditions with several circle entries and positive attacks on goal. But in the end, India, the highest-ranked team in the competition, failed to put it across the Koreans, who had finished behind Malaysia in Pool B.

Meanwhile, in another Super 4 stage match played on Wednesday, Malaysia remained perfect in the tournament, registering their fourth win in a row with a 2-0 verdict against China.

In a match for the 5th-6th place, Japan defeated Chinese Taipei 2-0 with Shinohara Ryosuke scoring both the goals.

India made a bright start by winning two early penalty corners in the second and seventh minutes, respectively; however, they failed to threaten the keeper. In the eighth minute, Sukhjeet Singh won the ball in the midfield and played it to Hardik Singh (8′), who made an incredible solo run down the middle, beating the Korean backline and ending his move with a simple finish past the goalkeeper to open the scoring.

Korea retaliated well with two successive goals to gain an advantage in the contest. In the 12th minute, Korea were awarded a penalty stroke due to a foul by Jugraj Singh inside the circle. Jihun Yang (12′) stepped up and found the top right corner with a powerful shot to score the equalizer. Two minutes later, Korea won a penalty corner, which was successfully converted by Hyeon Hong Kim’s (14′) drag flick to claim the lead.

The second quarter was a cagey affair between the two teams, with India relentlessly attacking the goal, but Korea were resilient with their defence. India were piling on the pressure but couldn’t work their way around Korea’s tight man-marking. In the 22nd minute, Captain Harmanpreet Singh played a long pass to find Jarmanpreet Singh on the right flank, but his angular shot towards the near post was met with a strong save by the Korean goalkeeper.

The third quarter also ended in a stalemate with Korea holding on to the slim lead. India were doing well in creating opportunities inside the circle; however, it couldn’t find the net. In the 41st minute, Manpreet Singh played an incisive pass to Sukhjeet Singh on the far post with only the goalkeeper to beat, but his shot went narrowly wide off target. Moments later, Abhishek had two chances to score, but both his shots went wide as well. In the last play of the third quarter, India won a penalty corner after a long wait, but Harmanpreet Singh’s drag flick was saved by a Korean defender on the line.

India won another penalty corner in the 49th minute, which was delivered to Jugraj Singh this time, but he couldn’t manage to beat the first rusher. Seconds later, Mandeep Singh was on the prowl as he cut into the circle from the right wing and fired a strong back-handed shot, but the Korean goalkeeper made another brilliant save.

In the 53rd minute, Sukhjeet Singh played the perfect pass through the Korean defence to Mandeep Singh (53′) as he tucked the ball into an empty net to level the game again. This was followed by penalty corners for both India and Korea, but they couldn’t manage to find the winning goal. In the 56th minute, Abhishek created a chance for Sukhjeet Singh with a lobbed pass, but his shot went whiskers away from the post as both sides settled for a draw after an extremely competitive four quarters.

India will next play Malaysia in the Super 4s Pool stage on Thursday.

–IANS

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