The Indian men’s hockey team produced a masterclass in aggressive, clinical hockey to record their best-ever victory over South Korea in Asian Games history, securing an 8-2 win in their third Pool A encounter on Thursday. The defending champions dominated from start to finish, moving a step closer to earning a spot in the semi-finals.
India set an aggressive tempo right from the push-off in warm conditions. The early pressure paid off in the fourth minute when Shilanand Lakra neatly converted a well-worked attack following an aerial feed into the Korean circle. Korea’s goalkeeper Jaehan Kim was kept busy under constant threat, but India doubled their advantage in the 10th minute through a sharp finish from Sukhjeet Singh. Just a minute later, captain Harmanpreet Singh scored from a penalty corner with a blistering flick to make it 3-0. Before the end of the first quarter, Lakra set up Abhishek for a firm slap-push finish to build a commanding 4-0 lead.
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India maintained their iron grip on the match in the second quarter. In the 26th minute, Mandeep’s reverse push was redirected by Dilpreet Singh into the net, capping off a half dominated by the men in blue at 5-0.
Dilpreet struck again just two minutes into the third quarter, driving a reverse hit into the backboard to bring his tournament tally to nine goals—the highest in the men’s competition so far. Abhishek brought up his own brace in the 38th minute, capitalizing after Raj Kumar’s attempt rebounded off the crossbar to make it 7-0. South Korea managed to pull one back in the 42nd minute through JaeHo Kim.
In the final quarter, Yong Bok Kim scored Korea’s second in the 52nd minute off a loose defensive challenge, but India had the last say. With just 38 seconds remaining on the clock, Rajinder Singh scored a ferocious flick off a penalty corner to round off the historic 8-2 triumph.
The match was also a major career milestone for Indian midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad, who completed his 200th senior international appearance and was felicitated before the game. India will play host nation Japan in their next Pool A match on September 26.
