Nov. 25: The Indian men’s hockey team defeated four-time champions South Korea 1-0 to finish with a bronze at the Asian Games here on Thursday. Pakistan won the gold with a convincing 2-0 win over Malaysia in the final. They won the Asian Games title after 20 years, which also booked a berth for them in the 2012 London Olympics.
Malaysia, who were making their maiden appearance in an Asian Games final, had to settle for silver. They have won the bronze medal six times. After their disappointing loss to Malaysia in the semifinals, India had to contend with a third place finish. India’s only goal in the bronze medal match came through Tushar Khandker in the 40th minute. The defence, which let the team down in the semifinals, played with resolve to hold onto the lead till the end at the Aoti hockey field here.
India, who last finished on the podium with a silver at the 2002 Busan Games, got their act together as they gave a tough challenge to the nimble-footed Koreans. After a goalless first half, India stepped up the pace in the second half with a flurry of attacking moves. Indian goalkeeper Bharat Chetri made some smart saves. South Korea, who won gold in 2002 and 2006, got two penalty corners in the first half and one in the second but Chetri stood solid.
India also got two penalty corners but failed to score. India’s Spanish coach Jose Brasa said the bronze medal was not a real measure of the team’s talent. In the gold medal match, veteran Sohail Abbas put Pakistan ahead with his team’s first penalty corner in the 26th minute. Striker Rehan Butt increased the lead three minutes after half-time. Pakistan won their eighth Asiad hockey gold — the last one came way back in Beijing in 1990.
It was also their first major title since winning the 1994 World Cup in Sydney.