On the fourth day of the men’s Asian Games competition, Pakistan defeated India and Korea moved past Malaysia, thus both securing places in the semi-finals. Japan thrashed Singapore, and Oman achieved an important win against Sri Lanka.
The big match of the day was the latest instance of a classical rivalry, as India and Pakistan locked horns. In a passionate and exciting match, the two teams neutralized each other in the first half, and it wasn’t until halfway through the third quarter that the first goal was scored. India briefly pulled even in the fourth quarter, but within a minute of the Indian goal having been scored Pakistan pulled ahead again, and soon after, the final whistle confirmed Pakistan’s win.
It was a high class match played in front of a good crowd, and even India’s coach Terry Walsh commented on how much he had enjoyed the encounter, “I always enjoy watching the liveliness of the Pakistani forward line, they played very well, and in a “finals’ mood” already. I don’t think we played with the same level of passion and excitement as Pakistan today, but we will see whether they can repeat this in the final.” Pakistan’s coach Sheikh Shahnaz was equally complimentary of today’s performance, saying, “We must appreciate both teams. It was classical hockey, and everyone in the stadium enjoyed it. I think it was the best match in the tournament so far.”
In the clash between Malaysia and Korea, the home team was the favorite, but it was not a clear or easy win. Malaysia played very well, and with even shares in possession and play in the field, what set Korea apart was the danger they were able to create in the circle. They used their penalty corners wisely, and Nam Hyunwoo’s two goals were enough to take the win and confirm a place in the semi-finals today.
The match between Sri Lanka and Oman was also fiercely contested. Both teams scored their first goals of the tournament, but in the end, it was the team from Oman that was more dangerous and more effective in front of the goal. “You have to remember we haven’t played in Asian Games in 36 years”, said Sri Lankan coach Nadeem Ahmed after the game, “the domestic level is low, and when we play internationally, we usually play much lower ranked teams. We need more time to adapt, to get used to playing these matches against these opponents.”
Prior to the clash between Sri Lanka and Oman, in the first match of the day, Japan had inflicted a heavy defeat on Singapore, with the 13-0 final scoreline including hat-tricks from Kenta Tanaka and Toshiro Tachibana. Japan dominated the match from start to finish, and created 28 scoring opportunities while not allowing Singapore a single shot on goal.
The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the XVII Asiad, is the biggest sporting event held in Asia and is widely recognised as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games. The event is held every four years, with Hockey being one of 36 different sports set to feature in the Games. The Hockey competition in Incheon will be the biggest in the history of the Games, with ten men’s and eight women’s teams all battling it out for glory and Olympic qualification at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium.
The tournament - which offers a place at the Rio 2016 Olympic games to the men’s and women’s Gold medallists - is the first major international hockey competition to feature the groundbreaking 60 minute format, with the sport moving from two halves of 35 minutes to four 15-minute quarters with 40-second time-outs when a penalty corner is awarded and after a goal is scored.
The additional time-outs for penalty corners and after goals ensures that the new 60-minute format is actual playing time, eliminating the dead time associated with penalty corner set up while also allowing for teams to enjoy their goal celebrations. To learn more about the rule changes, click here.
Results
Thursday, 25 September 2014 – Men
Singapore – Japan 0-13 (0-4)
Sri Lanka – Oman 1-3 (0-1)
India – Pakistan 1-2 (0-0)
Malaysia – Korea 1-2 (0-1)
To keep up with the hockey in Incheon, join us at http://www.asiahockey.org/, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/asiahockey and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/asia_hockey. To find out more about all the action at the Asian Games Incheon 2014, please visit the official event website http://www.incheon2014ag.org/index.
