KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, 24 September 2003 — India crushed Bangladesh 10-0 yesterday to book a semifinal berth in the Asia Cup men’s field hockey tournament, while defending champions South Korea moved closer to the final four by defeating Hong Kong 7-1.
India triumphed despite playing at half pace, saving their strength for their last preliminary round match against traditional rivals Pakistan today.
“Matches between India and Pakistan have always been close, and I expect it to be the same here,” said Indian coach Rajinder Singh. “Both teams will be out to play entertaining hockey, but at the end, it is the result that matters.” Singh said India hopes “to win the match against Pakistan and put ourselves in a better position for the semifinal.”
Against Bangladesh, India scored through Dilip Tirkey (8th and 55th minutes), Deepak Thakur (11th minute), Vikran Pillay (27th minute), Dhanraj Pillay (33rd minute), Sandeep Michael (35th minute), Gagan Ajit Singh (37th and 50th minutes), Prabhjot Singh (48th minute) and Baljit Singh Dhillon (54th minute).
In yesterday’s other match, South Korea scored through Lee Gye-sung (2nd minute), Lim Jung-woo (20th minute), You Hyo-sik (27th minute), Seo Jong-ho (54th minute), Kim Jung-chul (56th minute), Lee Jung-seon (58th minute) and Jang Jong-hyun (67th minute). Hong Kong’s Ali Asghar pounced on a penalty corner in the 19th minute and slipped the ball past goalkeeper Lim Jong-chun to score his side’s solitary goal.
The Koreans will take on Japan in their last preliminary round match today and need only one point to edge out Malaysia for a place in the final four.
Coach Kim Young-ryu voiced confidence about Korea’s chances against Japan.
“Why play for a draw? We want to win and top the group,” Kim told reporters. “We did not go all out today, as all we wanted was to win and conserve energy for the match against Japan. That is why we kept on making substitutions, and that affected the flow of the game.”
