India beat Korea in the bronze medal match 4-1 in the penalty shootouts at the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah tournament played at Ipoh, Malaysia just few minutes ago. It was a great performance by team India who played some excellent hockey in the match.
In the first quarter both the teams started on a attacking note. In the 9th minute Korea was awarded the first penalty corner but it was well saved by Sreejesh. In the 10th minute Uthappa passes it to Nikkin who sweep shot gave India a 1-0 lead. At the end of first quarter it was 1-0 in favor of India.
In the second quarter Korea started off a positive start in the 1st minute but it Korean shot was well saved by Sreejesh and then in the 3rd minute Korea was awarded their second penalty corner of the game which was converted into a goal by Hyosik off the rebound to level the score at 1-1. Both the teams then played some aggressive hockey for next couple of minutes. In the 7th minute Satbir and Dharamvir played 1-2 pass as Satbir flicks the shot right to the net giving India 2-1 lead. In the 12th minute Ramandeep got a yellow card. In the 13th minute Korea was awarded 3 penalty corner’s in succession. The third penalty corner was converted into a goal by Hyunwoo Nam to equal the things at 2-2. At the end of 2nd quarter it was 2-2 .
The third quarter India played some aggressive hockey and got 4 to 5 chances in the quarter but did not convert the chances into a goal. Korea also attacked but they too not convert the chances into goals. At the end of third quarter it was 2-2.
In the fourth quarter India began off to a positive start in the 2nd minute but was not able to trap the ball in front of the goal. In the 3rd minute Korea was awarded 2 penalty corners in succession. The second shot was well saved by Sreejesh. After that both the teams played some possesional hockey. At the end of fourth quarter it was 2-2 and went to a penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout India’s Akashdeep hit the first goal hitting to the left of the goalkeeper, Korea equaled it, the second penalty shootout was converted by Sardar Singh, Korea missed the second shoot when Sreejesh saved the goal diving to the left, the third penalty shoot for India Rupinder Pal scored the goal, Korea in their third penalty corner was well saved by Sreejesh again as sways the ball away and hits on the rebound goes wide, India in their fourth penalty corner Birendra Lakra flicks to the top of the net helping India winning the bronze medal.
It was a brilliant comeback from India who played some excellent hockey in the last 3 matches beating Canada, Australia and Korea. This bronze medal will be a confidence booster for this Indian team going into the upcoming tournaments.