JAKARTA: India secured a third win in Pool B of the women’s event with a 4-1 win over South Korea at the GBK Hockey Stadium. The Indians, ranked ninth in the world, secured the win in the later moments of the game. Both teams were level 1-1 until the start of the fourth quarter, but the Indian side managed to score 3 goals in quick succession.
After the win, India tops Group B and will now wait to see who are their opponents in the semi-finals. Indian coach Sojerd Marijne was happy with the display but felt that there is still room for improvement. “It was a good win and one that is thoroughly deserved. The Koreans put up a very good fight, but through sheer hard work, we managed to come on top. I am happy with the overall effort and will look towards the semi-finals now,” he said.
Both teams have already sealed their place in the semi-finals. Their match was to decide who tops the group. Both were evenly matched in the first quarter with just one clear goalscoring opportunity each. But as the second quarter started the Indians took the advantage. In the 16 minutes, a quick counter-attack saw the Indians take the lead through Navmeet Kaur scoring a field goal.
In the 20th minute, the Koreans earned a penalty stroke when their penalty corner attempt was fouled by an Indian defender. Lee Yu Rim duly converted the flick to put the teams on level terms.
The third quarter did not yield any result as both sides attacked in numbers. But two penalty corner strikes in a space of one minute turned the tables for the Indians. Gurjit Kaur scored both the goals in the 54th and 55th minute to ensure of an Indian win. Vandana Katariya then added the fourth for good measure in the 56th minutes form a field attempt.
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