Champions Trophy | India survive late match drama to clinch a thriller

After a thrilling draw with Germany and an impressive win over hosts Great Britain, India lost momentum after the 1-2 loss to Belgium. In third place after three matches in the Champions Trophy 2016, India looked to inch closer to the final with a win over South Korea. A win for the South Koreans meant they would go past India in the table, making this a crucial match for both teams. The South Koreans came into the match with some disappointing losses to Australia and Great Britain after their win against Belgium.

By the end of the 1st half, India had dominated the stats - possession, circle penetrations and shots. Korea needed to up the ante substantially to stop the match from slipping away from their grasp. They started off the second half looking to win a goal from their long, aerial balls which were causing India some discomfort. India’s professionalism yielded the first breakthrough in the 39th minute when some good pressing gave Akashdeep the ball. He passed it to Harmanpreet who returned the favour. Akashdeeep and SV Sunil played a lovely one-two which brought the skipper one-on-one with the Korean keeper. The skipper displayed some excellent stick-work to get past the keeper and slot it in making it 1-0. This added confidence to the already-brimming Indian team, and they won their first penalty corner, which though was shamefully wasted. Korea did try to fight back, but India’s defense held strong going into the third quarter break with the single goal lead.

The last quarter started with India trying to add to their lead winning a penalty corner in the 2nd minute after the restart. The Korean defense was quick to react, closing down on Raghunath who could only hit it across a defender. The resulting corner again could not be taken advantage of. Harmanpreet’s good skill kept giving India chances inside the circle with the Koreans having to block shots or bring Hoong Dopyo into play. Absolutely dramatic scenes followed with Korea’s determination giving them an equaliser with four minutes left on the clock. A quick, sliding ball allowed Kim Juhun to tick the ball in. Seconds later, the Korean defense was caught napping on India's counter-attack with a square ball from Talwinder Singh allowing Thimmaiah to tap it in. The Indian defense saw off the final three minutes to pick three valuable points in the tournament and make a strong case for the finals.