The Hindu : Sport : Diwakar scripts golden finish

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Sport

Diwakar scripts golden finish

Principal Correspondent

Korea squanders a 2-0 lead to lose in extra-time

— Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

BASKING IN GLORY: The jubilant Indian players after winning the junior Asia Cup in Hyderabad on Friday.

HYDERABAD: Diwakar Ram did not wilt under pressure and scripted a ‘golden finish’ in the fourth minute of extra time to help India lift the crown in the sixth junior Asia Cup hockey championship here on Friday.

The 20-year-old penalty corner specialist came up with two goals in the match to fashion India’s 3-2 win over Korea in the final.

Korea shot into the lead in the seventh minute when Nam Hyun Woo latched on to a short pass from Lee Dong Hyun on the left of the ‘D’ to slam the ball home. From then on, it was Korean domination all the way.

In good form

Korean goalkeeper Kim Jae Hyun was in great form. In the 16th minute, he blocked a rasping shot from Gurwinder Singh and when Roshan tried to score off the deflection, the goalkeeper reacted quickly to stop it. He repeated this when Chandi took another shot off another deflection.

At this stage, India had earned two penalty corners but both were wasted by Diwakar. Korea led 1-0 at the break.

On resumption, while the defenders Kim Seong Kyu and Kang Moon Kyu kept the Indian forwards at bay, Bae Jong Suk, Im Kyoung Ju, Kem Seong Kyu and Jeyon Byung Jin attacked the Indian citadel.

India’s regular custodian Sreejesh P. Raveendran had to be carried off on a stretcher after taking a powerful hit from Woo in the 40th minute.

When Sreejesh returned after 13 minutes, Woo scored with a diving effort off a centre from the left by Kim Seong Kyu to make it 2-0 for Korea.

Going on the offensive

In the 57th minute, Korea’s Jin was shown the yellow card for dangerous play. Capitalising on this, India launched a series of attacks, masterminded by Gurwinder and S.V. Sunil with support from the flanks from Gurbaj Singh and Ranjit Singh.

Pramod Kumar, in the withdrawn forward role, was equally good in this crucial phase.

In the 59th minute, Sunil latched on to a free hit from Diwakar close to the ‘D’ and deflected the ball home to keep India’s hopes alive.

Spurred on by that opportunistic effort, India went on the offensive. Amidst protests from the Korean camp, a penalty corner was awarded when a Korean defender committed a foul on the advancing Sunil.

Diwakar sounded the boards to level the match 2-2 in the 62nd minute. At the end of regulation time, the teams were locked 2-2.

In extra-time, with the golden goal rule in force, India went all out for the match-winner. The home team earned a penalty corner in the fourth minute.

To the delight of the boisterous crowd, Diwakar was bang on target to trigger wild celebrations in the Indian camp.

Earlier, Pakistan defeated Bangladesh 7-2 to settle for the bronze medal.

Dream come true

India’s chief coach A. K. Bansal termed the magnificent victory in the sixth junior Asia Cup final as a “dream come true.”

“We always knew that once the margin was reduced after Korea led 2-0, we could come back strongly. No doubt, the turning point was when the Koreans were reduced to 10 players,” Bansal said.

“Under pressure, they did make quite a few mistakes in the last 15 minutes. This was a truly team effort from India,” he added.

“We always looked to Diwakar Ram for match-winning efforts and he never disappointed us right through the tournament,” Bansal said while complimenting the drag-flicker who was the architect of India’s win.

“This is an important victory given the circumstances and the situation of Indian hockey. It should be a big morale-booster not just for the hockey players but for the administrators too,” Bansal said.

The results: Final: India 3 (Diwakar Ram 2, S.V. Sunil) bt Korea 2 (Nam Hyun Woo 2).

Third place match: Pakistan 7 bt Bangladesh 2.

Special awards: Top-scorers: Nam Hyun Woo (Kor) and Diwakar Ram (Ind), 9 goals each; Player of the tournament: Woo; Best goalkeeper: Sreejesh P. Raveendran (Ind); Most promising player: Muhammad Sairulnizam Rahmat (Sin); Fairplay Trophy: Singapore.