Mohali, November 5 (TNA) India stormed into the men’s Asian Champions Trophy hockey final with a dominant 8-1 win over South Korea in the semifinal at the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium on Wednesday. The victory took India into the tournament final for a record-extending seventh time.
Shilanand Lakra and Dilpreet Singh scored two goals each, while captain Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Angad Bir Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad contributed one goal apiece. Sangjun Han scored South Korea’s lone goal.
Lakra opened India’s account in the fourth minute and doubled the lead in the 13th minute. Harmanpreet Singh also found the net in the first quarter, before Sukhjeet Singh and Dilpreet Singh struck in quick succession during the second quarter. Dilpreet added his second goal in the 25th minute as India established a commanding 6-1 lead by half-time.
Angad Bir Singh extended India’s advantage in the 36th minute, while Vivek Sagar Prasad completed the scoring in the 54th minute. The Indian defence kept South Korea under sustained pressure for most of the match after Han’s consolation goal.
Japan await final
India will face Japan in the final on Thursday. Japan secured their place in the title clash after defeating Malaysia 5-3 in a shootout following a goalless semifinal during regulation time. The hosts have remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. India topped the six-team round-robin league after winning all five of their matches and are now one victory away from a record-extending sixth Asian Champions Trophy title.