Asian Games 2026: India breaks stubborn Korean defence, reaches final

Indian women dominated the proceedings and did everything except find a way to break a stubborn South Korean defence till the end of the third quarter. But they eventually won 2-0 to reach the Asian Games hockey final at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium here on Wednesday.

Having missed the bus last time around with the semifinal loss to China before taking home bronze, India will be hoping to not only avenge its defeat but also book a ticket for the LA Olympics after the defending champion beat Japan 4-2 in the shootout. The teams were tied goalless at the end of regulation time in the other last-four game.

India started on an aggressive note and had its chance, the first of its 10 penalty corners coming in the fourth minute, but Deepika’s shot was saved. The sequence was repeated several times through the match — India’s PC, Korea’s defending, and a stalemate. For a long time, it looked like Korea was content simply sitting back and defending.

There was barely any attempt to attack or even break into the Indian third. At times, the Indians, too, were clueless on how to proceed against an opponent that did little by way of action. Most of the contest was confined to the Korean half as India tried to find the opening goal.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 44^th minute when Ishika turned in a perfectly placed pass off India’s eighth PC with a reverse shot.

Four minutes later, Salima Tete’s cross from the right deflected off a defender’s stick and trickled past the goal line. Korea looked to have realised that there was no way back from there without moving up and creating a few chances of its own, which included three back-to-back PCs. But it could not get past Savita Punia.

It was a similar story in the other semifinal, except that Japan was successful in keeping China at bay for the entire 60 minutes before going down in the shootout. Friday’s final, however, is expected to be a very different affair, with both India and China known for playing a more open game than what was on display on Wednesday.

The results (semifinals): India 2 (Ishika 44, Salima Tete 48) bt South Korea 0; China 0 drew with Japan 0 (China won 4-2 in shootout).