Japan, Korea set up surprise final
The final of the Asian Champions Trophy is set to be contested without either Pakistan or India for the first time in the tournament's history as Japan and South Korea defeated last edition's joint-champions in the semifinals at Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday.
Japan produced the biggest upset in the tournament yesterday, handing an emphatic 5-3 defeat to India. It was India's first loss to Japan in the eight years following a 2-1 defeat in the 2013 Asian Champions Trophy. Meanwhile, South Korea notched up a nerve-wracking 6-5 win over Pakistan in the first semifinal to confirm their maiden final berth in the Asian Champions Trophy. It was South Korea's first win over Pakistan in eight years as well, following a 2-1 semifinal win in the 2013 Asia Cup.
India and Pakistan contested the final of the Asian Champions Trophy four times in five prior editions. Pakistan and Japan contested it once during the third edition in 2013, with Pakistan winning 3-1.
Under floodlights, Japan -- who suffered a 6-0 defeat to India in the group stage -- looked determined to turn the tables and took a 2-0 lead within the first two minutes against third-ranked India, who were left chasing shadows and lagged behind 5-1 at one stage before reimbursing two goals in the last quarter.
Graham Reid's charges were well below their usual levels and failed to match the Japan's pace, surrendering meekly to the 15th-ranked nation in the world.
In the day's first match, South Korea's Jonghyun Jang not only struck the winning goal but also smashed a hattrick to power to take his side into the final.
Similar to the group-stage game that ended in a 3-3 draw, Pakistan and Korea fought neck-and-neck throughout the 60-minute game before Korea came out on top to claim a maiden final berth.
Pakistan took an early third-minute lead but their lead crumbled after conceding two consecutive penalty strokes, converted by Jonghyun, in the first quarter.
Having lost the lead, 17th-ranked Pakistan could not break through 16th-ranked Korea till the last minute.
They levelled the margin four times but continued to struggle against Jonghyun, who struck the winning goal four minutes from time, leaving Pakistan to contest the third-place decider with their arch-rivals India.