HSB / Ipoh (Malaysia)
A defensive error in the last minute of the game deprived India full points as they were held 1-1 by Korea in the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey on Sunday.
In the rain-marred fixture India played aggressively surging ahead in the 28th minute through Mandeep Singh and looked set for the second successive win but they conceded a penalty corner in the 60th minute and Jonghyun Jang made no mistake in converting it to give the Korean all important equalizer.
India made an attacking start with midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad creating space inside the striking circle within the minute of the match but the Korean defenders foiled that attack.
The Koreans retaliated by launching a counter attack, but defender Surender Kumar tackled well to clear the ball.
India made two more potential field goal scoring opportunities but the efforts did not convert. A quick-thinking Mandeep Singh created India’s first penalty corner in the 10th minute with good tackle in the baseline. The opportunity however went amiss due to poor execution .
India earned their second penalty corner in the 16th minute but the flick was well-saved by the goalkeeper. Korean’s launched a furious counter followed. Though the tactic was good, they lost three players (Kim Hyeongjin, Jihun Yang and Lee Namyong) to green cards that reduced their strength to eight players.
Take a look at some images from Day 2 of India's campaign at the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019 that ended in a draw against Korea.
For more images: https://t.co/XM6wcRXwwx#IndiaKaGame #SultanAzlanShahCup2019 pic.twitter.com/1umn858dHQ
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) March 24, 2019
The situation was capitalized by India as they found easy gaps to make circle entry and experienced Mandeep Singh striking the first goal for India in the 28th minute.
India kept up a pressure, relied on strong defence with precise marking as they constantly pushed the Korean defence to make forays into the striking circle.
Playing in rain as the second session opened, a defence error on India’s part saw Korea being awarded their first penalty corner. Amit Rohidas did well to ward off danger and ensure India stayed in the lead.
Braving the rain, both teams played on par with each other. With a little over eight minutes remaining for the final hooter, the game was called off due to heavy rains.
After the resumption, Korea put forth an attacking front to win back-to-back penalty corners but didn’t find success. With 53 seconds remaining, Korea forced another penalty corner but Jonghyun Jang’s powerful drag flick was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. A referral by Korea saw them being awarded another penalty corner.This time it was converted resulting in a 1-1 draw.