The Hindu : Sport : Junior Asia Cup final today

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Friday, Jul 18, 2008
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Junior Asia Cup final today

Principal Correspondent

HYDERABAD: India’s hopes will rest once again on drag flicker Diwakar Ram when it defends its title against Korea in the sixth Junior Asia Cup hockey championship final on Friday.

Not often in recent memory has one player in an Indian hockey team made so much difference, although the coach A.K. Bansal stresses that it is ultimately the team effort which clinches victory. The ever-improving Gurwinder Singh Chandi, S.V. Sunil and Vivek upfront, and captain Gurbaj Singh and Ranjit Singh on the flanks, are in splendid form and are capable of breaching the rival defence. And Diwakar Ram would be more than delighted if these enterprising forwards earn a few penalty-corners to enable him to provide the winning touch.

Against Pakistan, what was impressive more than the margin of the victory was the way the Indians dominated the game with their speed and ball control.

However former Olympian Jagbir Singh says that India cannot afford to miss scoring chances against the Koreans since they can recover ground very quickly. The Koreans are looking to Nam Hyu Woon, who always gets splendid support from Dong Hyun, Seo Jun Su and Bae Jong Suk, to define the course of the match.

Nam Hyu Woon is Korea’s main strength with his precision in penalty-corner conversion and his outstanding ability as a schemer.

The fact that he scored all the four goals for Korea in its 4-2 win over Japan, all through short-corner conversions, is a reminder to the Indians that he cannot be given any freedom in the striking zone.

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