India defeats South Korea to reach Asian Games hockey final

India booked a place in the Asian Games hockey final with a two-nil win over South Korea in the semi-finals on Wednesday night.

Match Details

India dominated possession with sixty-one percent and earned twelve penalty corners compared to three for South Korea. South Korea kept India scoreless for the first half by defending with numbers and stopping nine penalty corners. The breakthrough arrived in the forty-fourth minute through a clever penalty corner variation where Deepika passed back to Ishika, who scored. Salima Tete added the second goal in the forty-eighth minute by driving into the circle and forcing a deflection off a defender.

Tournament Run

India reached the semi-finals after scoring sixty-six goals in five pool matches against teams like Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and Thailand, while conceding only three goals. Deepika contributed twenty-one goals during the pool stage, Navneet Kaur scored ten, and Rutuja Pisal scored seven. China advanced to the gold-medal match after beating hosts Japan four-two in a penalty shootout following a level score.

Context

India will face defending champions and Paris Olympic silver medallists China in the upcoming gold-medal match on Friday. The winner of the final secures a direct ticket to the Olympic Games.