Jakarta, June 1 (agency)
India’s youth hockey team defeated Japan 1-0 to win the bronze medal in the Asia Cup. After a 4-4 draw with South Korea, Rajkumar Pal scored a field goal in the seventh minute for the defending champions India, who missed out on a place in the final on the basis of goal difference. After this, the Indian defense did not allow Japan to score a single goal, showing agility. India made several strikes in the first five minutes but did not succeed within the D. In the seventh minute, Uttam Singh counter-attacked the ball from the right flank to Rajkumar, who scored a six off Japanese goalkeeper Takashi Yoshikawa. After 3 minutes, India got two consecutive penalty corners but the goal could not be scored. In the last five minutes of the first quarter, Japan tried hard to equalize but the Indian defense looked very strong. Japan got two penalty corners in the 20th minute which were not allowed to be converted by the Indian defense. Both the teams created many chances in the second quarter but could not maintain the momentum in the third quarter. After the break, Japan played an aggressive game and again scored two consecutive penalty corners but the Indians could not penetrate the defence.
Korea’s record fifth title
South Korea won the Asia Cup title for a record fifth time after beating Malaysia 2–1 in the final. Manjae Jung (17th minute) and Tael Hwang (52nd) scored for South Korea. Syed Cholan scored the lone goal for Malaysia in the 25th minute.
