Nagoya: Nagoya, DHNS: Trampling over their opponents had become a habit for the Indian men’s hockey team. The surge came as no surprise, given that the teams India had faced in their first two Pool A games were Indonesia and Sri Lanka, whom the Harmanpreet Singh-led side swept aside 13-1 and 16-1, respectively.
So South Korea, India’s third opponent, was expected to provide the first real test for Asia’s top-ranked side. But India were in no mood to let the Jihun Yang-led side come anywhere close. They may not have reached double figures on Thursday at the Asian Games, but India still cruised to an 8-2 victory.
Three wins from three games moved India closer to a semifinal berth, with two Pool A matches still to come – against nearest rivals Japan on September 26 and minnows Bangladesh on September 28.
Shilanand Lakra opened the scoring in the fourth minute before Harmanpreet Singh doubled India’s lead in the 11th. Abhishek then struck twice, in the 15th and 38th minutes, while Dilpreet Singh was the star of the show, completing a hat-trick of field goals in the 10th, 26th and 32nd minutes. Rajinder Singh rounded off the scoring in the 60th minute.
For the third consecutive game, however, India’s hopes of keeping a clean sheet were dashed. Kim Jae Ho pulled one back for South Korea in the 42nd minute before Kim Yong Bok added another in the 52nd, but the goals did little to alter the course of a one-sided contest.