Asian Champions Trophy 2024 Highlights: Harmanpreet Singh-led India stayed on course to defend their title from Chennai in 2023.
IND vs KOR hockey match Asian Champions Trophy 2024 Highlights: Unbeaten India continued their fine run at the 2024 Asian Champions Hockey Tournament as they beat Korea 4-1 to enter the final in quest for consecutive titles. In the first semifinal, Pakistan went down in a shootout against hosts China after missing all their attempts. India will take on hosts China in the final on Tuesday.
Harmanpreet Singh (x2), Uttam Singh and Jarmanpreet Singh were the goalscorers for India while Yang Jihan got a consolatory goal for Korea as India prevailed 4-1 with a dominant performance to return to the final in Moqi, after winning the event in Chennai last year.
Back-to-back Olympic bronze medallists India are in red-hot form as they came into the semis with five wins. Harmanpreet Singh-led India had defeated China 3-0, trounced Japan 5-1 and Malaysia 8-1, then edged past Korea 3-1 and arch-rivals Pakistan 2-1 with the last two matches being tougher tests. India have been led by the in-form drag flick star Harmanpreet Singh who stepped up with two goals each in the last two matches and repeated the feat in the semifinal. Uttam opened the scoring in the first quarter while Jarmanpreet scored India’s third.
Asian Champions Trophy 2024, India vs Korea semifinal: IND 4-1 KOR, India reach the final
Raj Kumar Pal started playing hockey at the Karampur village stadium in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, after seeing his two elder brothers play the sport. As he started rising through the ranks, Raj Kumar turned out to be a brotherly figure to Uttam Singh at that very stadium. It made for a lovely moment on Monday at Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir on Monday, as the two were part of India’s well-worked opening goal in the semifinal of the men’s Asian Champions Trophy.
As Uttam tapped in to complete a flowing passing move, it was Raj Kumar who was the first to rush to the former Under-21 captain and embrace him. India eventually beat Korea 4-1 to keep their title defence on track and set up a title clash against China, who had earlier stunned Pakistan in the first semifinal. Uttam has spoken in the past about the role Raj Kumar played in his career, akin to an elder brother guiding him through the rocky early stages of a nascent career, taking time out to train the young forward with drills like dodging, tackling, and passing to make him a more rounded athlete. The two of them have had many conversations about their careers, and finally, here they were playing for the senior national team and celebrating a goal together.