In two very close women’s semi-final encounters, China and Korea came out on top against Japan and India at the Asian Games in Incheon on Monday (29th September). Thailand took 7th place with a win over Hong Kong, while Singapore secured victory over Sri Lanka to come 9th in the men’s tournament.
In today’s first semi-final, reigning Asian Games champions China faced Japan. In an astonishing game, the game was confined to midfield for long stretches with only a handful of circle penetrations at either end. The entire game had only one single shot on goal, from the only penalty corner of the match which three minutes from the end. China’s Wang Mengyu did not waste the opportunity, putting a cracking flick into the top left corner. Japan rushed to level the score but ran out of time, and the final whistle sounded to confirm China’s place in a fourth consecutive Asian Games final.
China’s coach You Baodong commented after the match that he was very happy with the way his players stuck to the game plan that had been prepared, and called the Japanese defence the best in Asia, and one that the Chinese and other Asian teams have learned a lot from.
The other semi-final saw Korea take on India, and in a match that was closer than might have been expected given the teams’ rankings and performances, Korea eventually took the win. However, they were given a good run for their money by their Indian opponents, especially in the later stages of the match when the Korean players slowed down and missed their captain Kim Jongeun who left the field after getting hit on the ankle.
An early goal from Kim Darae was met with a reply from Namita Toppo, with the Korean lead only to be restored just before halftime. Park Mihyun scored Korea’s third near the end of the third quarter, and despite a very good effort, India could not come up with a reply. Despite the defeat, Indian coach Neil Hawgood showed himself fiercely proud of his girls, reiterating his statement from a few days ago that Korea are by far the best team in the competition, and India being able to challenge them only shows how far the team has come.
Prior to the semi-finals, Thailand had taken on Hong Kong in the women’s play-off match for 7th place. Two early goals, when Hong Kong hadn’t quite got their feet on the ground, gave Thailand an added advantage, but they were the stronger team throughout. Scoring again just after halftime and twice in the last few minutes of the match, it was a clear victory for Thailand, with Tikhamporn Sakunpithak bagging a hat-trick.
Singapore and Sri Lanka were also in action, playing off for 9th place in the men's competition. Singapore had a strong first half and built a three goal lead, but a second half comeback saw Sri Lanka get to 3-4. While pushing for the elusive equaliser however, Sri Lanka ended up conceding a penalty stroke two minutes from the end which Singapore made good use of to finalise the 5-3 scoreline that gave them 9th place in the event. Despite finishing in last place, Sri Lanka’s team manager Sarath Dissanayake expressed his happiness with today’s performance and highlighted that it was Sri Lanka’s first appearance in Asian Games in 36 years, and that this was mainly a step towards a bigger and better future for the team.
Results
Monday, 29 September 2014 – Men
9/10th place: Singapore – Sri Lanka 5-3 (3-0)
Monday, 29 September 2014 – Women
7/8th place: Thailand – Hong Kong 5-0 (2-0)
Semi-Final: China – Japan 1-0 (0-0)
Semi-Final: Korea – India 3-1 (2-1)
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