Hockey Asia Cup: India ready for Korean challenge in Super 4s

Rajgir, Sep 2 (IANS) The unbeaten Indian men's team is all set to take on Korea in the first Super 4s match on Wednesday here at the Hockey Asia Cup. Dragflick sensation Harmanpreet Singh-led side has comfortably won their pool stage matches, having beaten China 4-3, Japan 3-2 and Kazakhstan 15-0 to top Pool A.

Meanwhile, Korea come into this game with a 7-0 win against Chinese Taipei, 1-4 loss against Malaysia and 5-1 win against Bangladesh.

Speaking about the upcoming tie, India's chief coach Craig Fulton said, "It is nice to get through the pool phase without any injuries. Especially in a game like the one yesterday (against Kazakhstan) but two good games in the afternoon, in warm conditions, changes when we come back to play at night. The energy is really high in the team. Back-to-back wins, I think, were refreshing for everyone.

"Now we are on to the next challenge in the tournament. We will have a fresh approach for this phase. We play Korea first. We scored some really good goals against Kazakhstan, leading the game from the front, which was most important," explained Fulton.

On any concerns specific to their playing style from the first three games here, he said, "We had enough training in the areas we wanted to improve; this game (against Kazakhstan) came at the right time because it gave us a lot more focus on the final third. Players are feeling a bit more confident and have a bit more feel for working together. That was lacking, I think, in the other two games."

In their second Super 4s match on September 4, India will take on Pool B toppers Malaysia, who were the finalists of the previous edition of Asia Cup held in Jakarta 2022. In their last Super 4s match, they play China on September 6.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh, talking about the Super 4s, said, "All of them are tough opponents in this tournament. Although we have not played Malaysia and Korea a lot in the past one year, we did get a good game against Malaysia in practice match ahead of the tournament. We obviously played against China and know what they can bring to the table. We are fast learners, which is good. So, when we play a team twice, it is good for us. It's just about preparing well against Korea. The only focus is one game at a time."

--IANS

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