India beat South Korea 5-4 in a penalty shootout in the first semi-final of the Asian Champions Trophy in Kuantan, Malaysia, on Saturday. India, who are the favourites, were once again stretched to the limit by the Korean team, who were relentless in their approach with score line reading 2-2 at the end of the regular time.
Previously, India and Korea had played out a 1-1 draw in the qualifying round. It was touted to be a contest between the Korean defense and India’s forward line. India drew first blood in the first quarter with Talwinder Singh scoring the goal after making space despite a tight Korean defense. However, Korea immediately hit back in the second quarter with Seo Inwoo finding the back of the net after a lapse in the Indian defense.
At halftime, the scoreboard read 1-1 with Korea having a slender advantage. After a fruitless third quarter, the fourth and final quarter saw the rain gods playing a role. And with eight minutes to go Yang Jihun gave Korea the 2-1 lead via penalty stroke. India immediately got the equaliser within two minutes with Sardar Singh delivering a superb assist to Ramandeep Singh, who scored with a deft touch. At the final buzzer, the match was to be decided by a penalty shootout.
Sardar Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Rupinder Pal, Akashdeep were all on target. Birendra Lakra was fouled during his take and Pal scored from the spot to make it 5-4. India's PR Sreejesh then made a spectacular save to get the win. India await the winner between Malaysia versus Pakistan for the final clash on Sunday.
Brief scores:
India 2 (Talwinder Singh, Ramandeep Singh) beat South Korea 2 (Seo Inwoo, Yang Jihun) 5-4 in the penalty shootout.
