Asian Champions Trophy Hockey: India beat South Korea in semis, to face China in final

India men's hockey team beat South Korea 4-1 on Monday (Sep 16) in the Asian Champions Trophy semis. India will now face host China in the final on Tuesday (Sep 17). India, who won bronze in the Olympics earlier this year, has been unbeaten so far in the tournament.

For India, Jarmanpreet Singh and Uttam Singh scored one each, while skipper Harmanpreet Singh two goals. For Korea, Jihun Yang was the lone goal scorer in thegame.

Also Read:Taliban could now ban all forms of cricket in Afghanistan: Reports

India took the lead in the first quarter itself as Uttam Singh scored a goal just at the end of first 15 minutes. India had three chances to double their lead in the second quarter but could convert only one of those chances as skipper Harmanpreet scored with 9:11 minutes left in the quarter.

The next two goals came in the third quarter, with Jarmanpreet scoring two minutes into the quarter and the skipper in the final minute. Korea's only goal also came in the third quarter when Yang scored with three minutes into the quarter.

In the previous league stage encounter between the two finalists, India prevailed 3-0.

Prior to semis win, India had beaten host China, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Korea as well. India won against China 3-0 in their first match before beating 5-1. India then annihilated Malaysia 8-1 and won over Korea 3-1 before beating Pakistan 2-1 in their last league match.

Earlier in the day, China defeated Pakistan 2-0 via shoot-out in the first semifinal after the two teams finished 1-1 at the end of regulation 60 minutes.

Pakistan and Korea will face off in the third place classification match, which will also be played on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in the fifth-sixth place classification match, Japan beat Malaysia 4-2 in a shootout following a 4-4 stalemate in normal time.

(With inputs from agencies)