India was leading 3-1 till the 57th minute and looked set to win the crucial game against South Korea and qualify for the quarterfinals of the Hero Hockey Junior World Cup.
But in the next three minutes, the pugnacious Koreans scored two goals to hold 3-3 and shattered their hopes of qualifying for the last eight stage at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here on Tuesday. The draw means both India and Korea finished their pool engagement with four points apiece but it was not enough for the home team to qualify for the quarterfinals as the visitors had as a better goal difference than the Indians. Only a win could have taken India to the next round.
Koreans came up with two penalty corners and Seungju You converted both of them to complete his hat-trick and show India the exit door. Now, the hosts will play Argentina for the 9 to 12 place on Thursday. These two goals helped the Koreans hold the Indians 3-3 and ensured their entry into the last eight stage. “We could have controlled the game in a better way. We turned over the ball easily and those soft turnovers changed the game. We knew the threat of You. But he executed it brilliantly to take the game away from us. We are really disappointed. This was a home tournament for us and now that we are out we will try to finish as high as possible,” Clark told reporters.
Knowing the importance of the match, both teams started the game aggressively, leaving no space for each other. The pace of the game was so immense that in the first five minutes both the teams got a penalty corner each but failed to convert them. However, the light-footed Koreans with their quick movement and strong backline pushed the Indians hard breaching their defence and entering the circle on several occasions. In their third penalty corner chance, Seungju You made amends and his aerial flick managed to beat Indian custodian Sushant Tirkey, who had missed first two matches.
Very much like the earlier games, the strikers — especially Akashdeep Singh and Mandeep Singh were impressive but the finishing touch was missing. They managed to earn another short corner in the 28th minute but Amit Rohidas wasted it with powerless and inaccurate shot. However, the hard-working forwards continued their hunt and four minutes later were awarded with another penalty corner only for Gurjinder Singh to open the hosts’ account. He doubled it in the 35th minute with another successful execution to put Indians ahead 2-1.
The momentum which was gathered at the end of the first half in favour of the Manpreet Singh-led Indians wounded the Koreans further as 10 minutes into the second half saw swift counter-attack resulting in 3-1 scoreline. Ramandeep passed the ball to Satbir singh from the left and the latter’s shot was deflected home by Mandeep, triggering wild celebrations.
The deficit seemed to have scared the visitors and things started to look bleak for the Koreans. They tried desperately to come back into the game and closed the gap with two successful penalty corner executions through You, who scored in the 57th and 60th minute. Man-of the match You helped his team equalise 3-3 and dash the Indian hopes. In the end, You hijacked the big day of another drag flicker Gurjinder Singh, who will be one of the big positives for the Indians.