SHILANAND Lakra and Dilpreet Singh struck a brace each as fivetime champions India thrashed South Korea 8-1 in the second semi-final to enter the men’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament final in Mohali, on Wednesday. Lakra scored in the fourth and 13th minutes, while Dilpreet found the target in the 21st and 25th minutes. Captain Harmanpreet Singh (9th), Sukhjeet Singh (21st), Angad Bir Singh (36th) and Vivek Sagar Prasad (54th) were the other goal scorers for India who made it to the final for a record-extending seventh time. Sangjun Han (9th minute) pulled one back for South Korea. Asian Games gold winners India will face Japan in the final on Thursday. Japan beat Malaysia in the penalty shootout 5-3 after the two teams were locked goal-less in the regulation time in the first semi-final earlier in the day. India had beaten South Korea 8-0 in the round-robin stage also. The hosts remained unbeaten in the tournament so far. They had topped the six-team roundrobin league after winning all their five matches. India led 6-1 at half time, scoring three goals each in the first two periods.

 

The hosts earned four penalty corners in the match, while South Korea got none. It was Lakra who gave India an early lead in the fourth minute from a field effort. However, South Korea equalised in the ninth minute with Sangjun Han scoring a field goal. India continued their domination with frequent forays in the opposition circle and in the process secured a penalty corner in the ninth minute. Skipper Harmanpreet made no mistake from the chance. Four minutes later, Lakra scored his second goal of the day off a rebound from a penalty corner as India took a 3-1 lead. India continued their dominance over South Korea in the second period, scoring three field goals in five minutes. Sukhjeet scored from a field effort in the 21st minute and seconds later, Dilpreet found the net from a field play. Dilpreet completed his brace through a field effort in the 25thminute as India took a 6-1 lead. The final two periods of 15 minutes yielded one goal eachfor India. Angad Bir Singh extended India’s lead just six minutes after half time from a field play. Vivek Sagar Prasad then struck another field goal in the 54th minute to complete the rout.